In this digital age, the beady eye of technology is ever-present, watching you from CCTV cameras, webcams, Street View, smartphones—all of them snapping your image, multiplying your simulacrum by posting the results online to be mocked and re-appropriated for all of eternity. Privacy is dead, long live… er…this pixelated mask! Titled Pixelhead, it’s the “fashionable” brainchild of artist Martin Backes, who calls it “media camouflage.” You can don this digital age balaclava to shield yourself from the guerilla warfare of image stealing that’s rife on our streets and even in our own homes.Basing the design on a pixelated version of the German Minister of Defence Thomas de Maizière, the stretch satin material will feel wonderfully soft against your skin and has two peep holes for your eyes, so you can meet Google’s mounted camera eye-to-lens. But if you don’t fancy that and want to conceal your eyes too, you might want to invest in some pixelated sunglasses to complete your look. Or, if you’d like to preserve your unique identity, you could knit yourself a bitmap of your face like Andrew Salamone did in his Identity Preserving Balaclava project.
Wearing this modern day “media camouflage” armor, you’ll just seamlessly merge into the busy street next time “The Man” tries to document your movements. Not standing out at all. Oh no, not one bit. Who’s laughing now, Google Street View?[via PSFK]Photos: DE:BUG
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