Marcus DeSieno: Privacy is a Myth We Tell Ourselves to Sleep
In the 21st century, with the widespread use of digital imaging, the omnipresence of the internet as a communication tool, and the rise of artificial intelligence, Marco DeSieno believes we are entering a new era where the camera becomes an active participant in the act of seeing. According to him, imagery and photography are being used extensively to exert control over various aspects of our lives, yet this profound ideological shift in how images are created and interpreted remains largely invisible to most people.
DeSieno’s work investigates how visual technology transforms, commodifies, and regulates human life, with a particular focus on the concept of privacy. He highlights how the average person is largely unaware of the ways in which image-based technologies are invading their private spheres and dismantling any reasonable expectations of privacy. He questions how individuals can understand the impact of these systems if they remain unseen.
Through his art, DeSieno aims to make these invisible technological systems visible to the viewer, enabling a deeper understanding of the constraints imposed by them. He engages with these tools of control through performative image-making, intentionally misusing, re-imagining, and repurposing a variety of surveillance technologies. His photographic work, in this way, becomes an act of protest, subverting the original intent of these technologies.
By transforming algorithms, neural networks, and computer languages into visual artworks, DeSieno creates pieces that rely on traditional pictorial techniques, making the complex information more accessible to viewers. His work materializes abstract concepts, offering a tangible form for viewers to recognize and interpret. This transformation process is essential to understanding the political implications embedded within these technological tools.
At the core of DeSieno’s work is an interrogation of society’s reliance on visual technology as a mechanism of power, and its potential consequences for the future as automated systems become increasingly prevalent. He warns of the irreparable effects that surveillance technologies have on global society, arguing that the 21st century requires a new form of visual literacy to fully comprehend what is at stake.
About the Author
Marco DeSieno is a visual artist who critically examines institutions of power through the medium of photography. He is particularly interested in documenting the enduring legacies of the American empire and how visual technology is utilized by the state as an instrument of oppression. DeSieno frequently employs historic and experimental analog photographic processes to foster dialogue between power and history. He holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of South Florida and is currently an Associate Professor of Photography at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.
DeSieno’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, with venues including the Aperture Foundation in New York, Paris Photo, The Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, The Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki, Finland, Photo Access in Canberra, Australia, and a number of other galleries and museums such as the Center for Fine Art Photography, Candela Gallery, and the Center for Photography at Woodstock. His work has also appeared in various publications, including The British Journal of Photography, The Boston Globe, FeatureShoot, GUP Magazine, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, National Geographic, PDN, Slate, Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, and Wired. He has been recognized as a selection for Photolucida’s Critical Mass 50 and named an Emerging Talent by Lensculture. His first monograph, *No Man’s Land: Views From a Surveillance State*, was published by Daylight Books.
Marcus DeSieno: Privacy is a Myth We Tell Ourselves to Sleep
September 6 – October 27, 2024
Griffin Museum of Photography – Winchester, Massachusetts – USA
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