Recognition (image 5-1.2), 2020

This edition from Tony Oursler’s Recognition series of unique collage works incorporates a two-phase lenticular flip element that opens and closes the right eye, bringing the portrait to life. With Recognition, Tony Oursler explores the uneasy intersection of technology and identity through the lens of facial recognition. In these works, he overlays photographic portraits with colorful data points, geometric forms, and computer-generated markers – referencing the algorithms used to map, categorize, and surveil human faces. These so-called "data portraits" visualize how machines interpret us, raising urgent questions about privacy, surveillance, and the shifting boundaries between human and machine perception. Oursler’s work ultimately reflects a world in which identity is increasingly defined – and distorted – by digital systems.