Familiar Strangers
Augmented Reality - Face Filter, video installation
2018
how do you act if suddenly you wear a mask of someone else's face? Who do you become?
"familiar strangers” (2018) is a face filter available on instagram, facebook and snapchat. When one or more faces are detected, a virtual mask substitutes the user’s face, following the head movements and rotation but hiding facial expressions. The mask is a 3D scanned self portrait of the artist that users are free to wear, experience and share. After an open call to participation, the project has been presented as a video installation showcasing all the collected video of users all over the world wearing the face filters. This ongoing collection of videos investigates the concept of “avatar as mask”, of identity in a social media context and, even if face recognition is not the latest trend, of surveillance in today’s society.
Try the Face Filter on Instagram︎︎︎ or Snapchat ︎︎︎