Issues such as the popularization of technology, concerns about data collection, identity and privacy and the use of cryptography have often been raised in connection with digital currency. Christina Yarashevich and Janne van Hooff will address all of these themes in a surprising way during Bitcoin Wednesday on 5 August 2015.
Christina and Janne are the two talented artists and graphic designers behind the DATTOO project. In the course of creating DATTOO the duo explored the mechanisms of facial recognition and found that when you don’t have control over the data collected, it raises concerns about privacy. Tracking an individual’s biometric data is becoming increasingly pervasive. Tagging friends on Facebook or simply unlocking a phone involves powerful face or fingerprint identification software.
The artists claim that their DATTOO project allows you to reclaim your biometric data. “Since the face is the key to our personal data,” they write, “we thought to develop a tool to mask it from prying eyes in protest against the inherent potential violations. We do so by designing a mask which both reveals your personal data and conceals it at the same time. Sounds like a paradox? It is called obfuscation, and it is an effective cryptographic method.”
Christina Yarashevich and Janne van Hooff will present their thought-provoking work and talk about their research into the usage of biometrical data in the mechanisms of recognition of individuals. This information became the starting point for DATTOO. In addition, they will briefly explain the process of visualization of this technical subject to help bring it to a wider audience, and in this context will talk about traditions of the Maori people and cryptographic methods such as obfuscation. These concepts formed the basis of this project. The artists will conclude their short presentation with a video demonstration of DATTOO itself.
Christina Yarashevich, one of the creators of DATTOO
Christina Yarashevich is a graphic design student at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Her portfolio mainly consists of printed works such as books and posters, but she also has experience producing videos, animations and 3D objects. In 2012 she graduated from Minsk State College, a school in Belarus named after A.K. Glebov. After a year of working on various projects as a freelance designer in Minsk, she moved to The Netherlands to continue her education. As part of her study she is currently doing an internship at Krossman.deJong Studio in Amsterdam. She has a strong interest in typography and aims to apply her knowledge in this field to every project she does.
Janne van Hooff, one of the creators of DATTOO
Janne van Hooff is a graphic design student at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. During her training she has taken great pleasure in designing and developing book concepts, and in the second year of her education she began doing this work professionally. In the design process of a book the paper plays an important role and allows a story or a feeling to be communicated to the reader. Besides books, Janne is interested in combining analog and digital. During the exhibition “Luchten verlichten” she showed a time registration of 13 hours, a work based on feelings that she experiences daily. In this project the choice of material was also an important part of the presentation.
