“Cookie Portrait, 2002”at OPR Gallery

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the project, OPR Gallery is pleased to host on its website the installation of Carlo Zanni’s work “Cookie Portrait, 2002”.

https://oprgallery.it/cookie20/

From 4 July to 4 December 2022, it will be possible to view and save your own ‘Cookie Portrait’ by visiting this page.

“Cookie Portrait” began exploring the idea of online identity and privacy at least 16 years before cookies were regulated (GDPR), anticipating the advent of surveillance capitalism (or attention economy), which profits from the unlimited monitoring of people by large technology companies.

This work is based on the same cookie technology that is used – for instance – for the internal session management of an eCommerce site and more generally for user profiling and marketing activities.

“Cookie Portrait” is a text file automatically generated by the server where the work is installed, and sent to the browser of the person visiting the project page.

The text contains the settings of the connected user’s work environment, such as information about the operating system in use, device type, IP address, browser, and other data, including a project statement and a sequence number.

“Cookie Portrait” is part of the NewNewPortrait series, which began in 2001 with the intention of creating portraits that do not so much depict a person’s physical appearance as their multiple temporary mental identities while online.

The cookie is free and can be downloaded in .txt format at the project link. Once printed on an A4 sheet, a ‘resale’ and a ‘show’ license can be purchased at this link.

A limited-edition print signed by the artist was also produced for the occasion, as well as the wall drawing “Self-Portrait as the cookie CZ_CP_22_OPR-GALLERY-3”.