2020
Through this series of digital photography, the delicate and complex relationship between the state and its citizens is meticulously investigated. As the camera captures the multiple law enforcement details, dutifully executing their duties across various European cities, the images are carefully divested of their utilitarian function, and examined to reveal the raw state of propaganda that underlies them. This process of revelation is particularly evident in the meticulously reconstructed accouterments of the Bereitschaftspolizei - the German riot police - which are pieced together from fragments to form an armor-like surface, resembling the scales of ancient times. These so-called "skins" of state power are comprised of a matrix of police-duty belts, hand-held protection devices, including pepper spray, firearms and ammunition, tasers, flashlights, batteries, gloves, window punches, and IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit). As the overlapping intruders progressively break through the layers of the skin, the detail of video recording devices of the BFE (Beweissicherungs- und Festnahmeeinheit), the German special units for arrests and securing evidence, press photographers, and onlookers' smartphones fiercely puncture the crowd control barrier in place. This series, imitating a photomicrograph of skin tissues and a 5K drone footage, serves to magnify the sharply different points of view within this tight encounter. It is further suggested that the unspecified format or scale of the images implies their boundless ability to propagate indefinitely in both the software and physical space, ultimately destabilizing the very foundations of power itself.