The Vera Icona Installation and Performance: A Reflection on Face Surveillance in Contemporary Society

Abstract

Abstract The Vera Icona installation-performance considers the relationship between face and image in contemporary society. It is inspired by the legend of the Vera Icona, an “icon made without hands” (said to have come into existence miraculously rather than by human creation), which is part of the political and philosophical history of images, from the religious icon to contemporary video. The installation-performance proposes a critical analysis of Jerusalem’s surveillance society. Using artificial intelligence techniques such as deep learning in order to replicate the mise en abyme art technique, the installation blends faces of those being observed with the faces of observers. It invites viewers to consider themselves at the center of their own universe, far from established norms and controlling societies.