HSIEH
PEI-TING
Ghosts of Google, 2021
Single-channel video, holographic Projection, 8'58".
The images in this work are captured from Google Earth’s Street View through screenshots, representing figures collected from political entities around the world covered by Google's imagery.
In Google's Street View, the camera does not intentionally focus on any individuals; it merely passes by and records everything—often resulting in fragmented and disjointed images. The blurred faces are due to Google's privacy regulations, which involve AI systems automatically detecting and obscuring faces. These anonymized figures, stripped of their identities, are nonetheless precisely located within the coordinates calibrated by satellite systems and the internet. Can they be considered a form of "portrait" reflecting contemporary human existence?
Produced by HSIEH PEI-TING
2021
Image Sources:
All original image files sourced from Google Street View.
Sound Credits:
NOAA 19 satellite by saphe
Modified by HSIEH PEI-TING with fade-in, fade-out, volume adjustments, mixed with additional sound effects, and added human voice
License: Attribution 4.0
Available at: https://freesound.org/s/189860/
earthscan1 by Irad Lee
Modified by HSIEH PEI-TING with additional sound overlay, fade-in, fade-out, and volume adjustments
License: Attribution 3.0
Available at: https://freesound.org/s/17333/
Telemetry signal by an old Satellite dopplereffekted by cydon
Modified by HSIEH PEI-TING with additional sound overlay, fade-in, fade-out, and volume adjustments
License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
Available at: https://freesound.org/s/413671/
Tone Drone by thatjeffcarter
Modified by HSIEH PEI-TING with additional sound overlay, fade-in, fade-out, volume adjustments, and added human voice
License: Attribution 4.0
Available at: https://freesound.org/s/104555/