The Mark
[ r e s e a r c h ]
.

AD406 - Proposal

The Mark

Recently I have been thinking about individuality and the systemic enumeration of the populace. Through the use of social security numbers, finger printing and DNA testing, the government is attempting to catalog human beings. In itıs attempt to reference individuals precisely, they have stripped us of our individuality, and have reduced each person into a nine digit number.

The wholesale enumeration of the populace brings visions of catastrophe and rapture. By associating each individual with a number, the government is fulfilling the prophecy in the book of Revelations. The mark of the beast will not be some tattoo, but a combination of a UPC symbol, oneıs social security number, and our finger print records. It is the future of such marking that frightens most.

I wish to utilize images of finger print records, social security cards, birth records, death certificates, and DNA signatures to isolate individuals from the population. The population will be pixelated stop motion footage taken in crowded areas. Subjects will be chosen to emphasize the governmentıs willingness to profile, identify, and mollify its population.

But who is watching the watchers?