About the project
series, 2004 – 2005
boxes 6 cm x 6cm x 1.5cm
handmade paper | paint | digital print | fingerprint
perspex frames 22cm x 17cm x 4cm
perspex | silver card | digital print | fingerprint
faces 25cm x 19cm
digital photograph
‘black-marked’ performance, 1 october 2004, x-change gallery, oxford
projections | three musicians | five voices
South Africa, 1906
Gandhi launched his first major campaign of non-cooperation in protest at the compulsory registration and fingerprinting of all Indians living in the Transvaal.
United States of America, 2003
All visitors from Arab and Muslim countries arriving at airports and borders are compulsorily photographed and fingerprinted.
European Union, 2003
EURODAC – the EU fingerprint database is launched. A shared central database of asylum seekers’ and irregular border crossers’ fingerprints.
United Kingdom, 2005
The Identity Cards Bill is introduced in parliament.
A series of works telling people’s stories of prejudice and of being ‘different’ to the majority. Recordings of some of these stories also formed part of the works.
‘black-mark’ – indication of disapproval, failure.
‘black-book’ – a book containing the names of people to be punished or blacklisted.
‘black-list’ – a list of persons or organizations under suspicion, or considered untrustworthy, disloyal.
