MIRROR_PIECE 2010-2011

Mirror_Piece is a mirror version of Marnix de Nijs’ previous work Physiognomic Scrutinizer. Equipped with biometric video analyzing software, the installation scans facial features and characteristics of anyone looking into its mirror, and compares them to those of more than 250 preselected people in a database. The database includes a variety of famous individuals and contributors to our contemporary culture, all chosen because of their controversial or infamous acts. A computerized voice publicly announces the name of the person each viewer has been identified as, in a confrontational reminder that the steady increase in the use of biometric technology in public space should be viewed with a healthy skepticism.