[Lecture performance] Act Natural 03: Face Value presents more research on visually similar image search, and new questions about designing virtual space and designing new life even. It’s the third presentation of my ongoing research into how our relationship with technology shapes the way we see, depict and imagine both ourselves and our environment.

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1) Design elements of trailer Vision 01: Raster Noton showcase. Running the photos of these five artists through visually similar image search algorithms revealed what choices were embedded in each photograph. The automated interpretation of technical and visual characteristics creates new archetypes around the likeness of each individual person. 2) What are the implications of using highly sophisticated imaging softwares, or rather the promise of technologically enhanced vision and memory? What are the implications of designing (virtual) environments? When you create and determine the position of that which you create, do you inherently define your relationship to it? How can one go from ‘master’ camera and ‘default’ position to a deliberate perspective? When we express ourselves using technology, how much of us is still there? 3) As an adoptee my likeness is not shared in my physical environment. As a gay man, my genotype and my image is less likely to be passed on naturally to a new generation. Studying image production techniques has resulted in a new understanding of the relationship between seeing, depicting and choosing narratives for both history and future. I think of IVF and the implications of genetic selection and genetic modification. I recite an excerpt from VPRO’s documentary interview with philosopher and bioethicist Julian Savulescu.

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Act Natural 03: Face Value was presented as a part of BARTALK #15: FACE,
May 18 held at The Grey Space In The Middle, The Hague.