Utilizing a rich visual language of glitches, grids and abstractions, Sheri Lynn Behr‘s project, And You Were There, Too, questions the surveillance state, exposing systems that include facial recognition combined with algorithms making the invisible apparent.
We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her work, currently on view in our exhibition, Artificial intelligence: Disinformation in a Post-Truth World, September 6 – October 27, 2024.
A Q&A with the artist follows.
Sheri Lynn Behr is a photographer and visual artist with an interest in perception, photography without permission, and the ever-present electronic screens through which we view the world. Her project on surveillance and privacy, BeSeeingYou, was exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography and released as a self-published photo book, selected by Elizabeth Avedon as one of the Best Photography Books of 2018. She was invited to participate in A Yellow Rose Project, a photographic collaboration of over a hundred women photographers in response to the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
Behr’s work was exhibited at the Amon Carter Museum of Art, MIT Museum, Center for Creative Photography, Musée McCord, and the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, among others. Her photographs have appeared in publications world-wide, including Harper’s Magazine, People’s Photography (China), Orta Format (Turkey), Toy Camera (Spain), and The Boston Globe. She received a Fellowship in Photography from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, a grant from the Puffin Foundation, and, most recently, a New York City Artist Corps Grant in 2021.
And back in the day, she used to shoot rock-and-roll. And Polaroids.
Follow Sheri Lynn Behr on her socials: slbehrphotos.bigcartel.com | @photographywithoutpermission | @slbehr
What initially drew you to exploring surveillance technology through photography?
I was photographing people through store windows, to get their reaction when they realized a stranger was taking their picture. Then I realized I was also being photographed – by the surveillance cameras that seemed to be everywhere. So I began to pay attention, and that ultimately led to several projects exploring surveillance and privacy.
What is the power of glitch and degradation in these images?
I create the layer of digital glitches to exaggerate the deterioration of the image I often see in surveillance videos on the news. Sometimes I wonder how they expect to find the person they are looking for.
Can you expand on the essence of the grid, aesthetically and symbolically?
Facial recognition software adds a grid to measure facial features – like the distance between the eyes — in order to help find a match. So I made my own grids, playing with that idea, but mine make the faces in my pictures harder to recognize.
What book or art recommendations would you give to someone interested in exploring this subject more deeply?
First, read the news – just this week, the New York Times ran an article on an F.T.C. study that found “‘Vast Surveillance’ of Social Media Users”. For books, I like Watched! Surveillance, Art and Photography, a European book with photos and essays on the subject. I made a book, BeSeeingYou, in conjunction with my previous exhibition at the Griffin in 2018.
Your biggest concern around this issue?
Surveillance technology is not always accurate. People tell me they don’t care, because they aren’t doing anything wrong. But who decides what’s “wrong?“ Especially in our current political climate.
