"Exposing the Hero" is a historical and material inquiry into the mugshot publishing industry, stemming from the early photogravure process used for mass image replication in newspapers. This project examines the phenomena from early print reproduction to contemporary online mugshot archives. In the absence of physical negatives, how long does the digital positive labor and commodify individuals? Unlike analog methods, the cessation of digital circulation remains ambiguous, perpetuating violent legacies online. The project utilizes web page architecture to explore how images can re-incarcerate individuals. Scrutinizing scraped mugshots from multi-jurisdictional and third-party citizen policing websites like mugshots.com reveals a thriving carceral economy. "Exposing the Hero" asks how do the most vulnerable individuals get free.
“Exposing the Hero.” Portable Grey, Gray Center for Arts & Inquiry, University of Chicago Press Journals, Vol 5. no.1 pp 49-65. 2022