Paolo Cirio – Overexposed

About

With the solo show 'Overexposed' by conceptual artist Paolo Cirio NOME inaugurates its exhibition programme.

With his public intervention 'Overexposed', artist Paolo Cirio disseminates unauthorized pictures of high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials throughout major cities. Cirio obtained snapshots of NSA, CIA, and FBI officers through social media hacks. Then, using his HD Stencils graffiti technique, he spray-paints high-resolution reproductions of the misappropriated photos onto public walls.

In this exhibition, NOME presents the nine subjects of the 'Overexposed' series painted on canvas and photographic paper.

The project considers the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s revelations and targets some of the officials responsible for programs of mass surveillance or for misleading the public about them.
Cirio's open-source intelligence (OSINT) utilizes intelligence collected from publicly available sources to satirize both an era of ubiquitous mass surveillance and overly mediated political personas.

Cirio’s political satire reverses the contemporary means of propaganda, exposing the extent to which a public image can be captured on camera and exploited by the very same systems that intelligence officials seek to control. 'Overexposed' derides the watchers with embarrassing pictures over which they have lost control, effectively turning the tables on them and their advocacy of mass surveillance and lax privacy practices.

Paolo Cirio (*1979) conceptually explores various issues in economics, democracy, privacy, transparency and copyright. His work has been exhibited at prestigious institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Denver and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. He was honored by Ars Electronica with the Golden Nica in 2014.