Facial recognition dates back to the 1960s. A project labeled “Man Machine” would attempt to recognize and identify a person by extracting the coordinates of features such as the center of pupils, the inside corner of eyes, the outside corner of eyes, point of widows peak, and so on.

Fast forward to modern day and we now have systems in place that are recording and storing our facial image without the need of a cooperating test subject. Systems installed in public places can identify individuals in a crowd without their knowledge. This rapid advance in technology and surveillance in general, has caused many to question our right to privacy and the methods of obtaining information without our consent.

The photos in this project are photographer Jacob Burge’s way of representing our current image-based and surveillance-obsessed society: a place where our identity is being digitized on a daily basis.

Burge shares reflections on his work in an interview with ICP Projected curator Wesley Verhoeve.

During the day, Face Off can be viewed on monitors inside the ICP Museum and during evening hours, images are literally “projected” onto the windows of the ICP Museum; they can be viewed from the sidewalk outside the Museum and are most visible after sunset.

About the Artist

Born and raised in the British countryside, Jacob Burge moved to Manchester for several years, went back home, picked up a camera, and studied at Hereford College of Arts. He now lives and works in Japan.