Abstract

Keywords:
Speculative practice, artistic practice, biological human bodies in the digital world, historical artifacts in the future technologies, contact lenses

To protect information —both individuals’ and corporations’— we use locks in both the real world and the digital environment. Due to the non-physicality in the digital environment, digital locks have appeared, such as numeric and letter-based combinations, the most common and secure way to perform any online activity. For additional security purposes, passwords have to be updated every few months. Clearly, it is true that there is no way to avoid using those passwords as long as we connect to the digital world. In other words, users easily get overwhelmed by the plethora of passwords regarding secure combinations, security questions, and regulations. Biometric data is permanent and cannot be changed— you cannot change your biologically innate iris or fingerprint. To lessen the burden, digital authentication systems apply biometrics technologies, such as iris scanners or fingerprint sensors on smartphones. Inspired by ancient signet rings (seals), the author proposes a speculative art object, Lock at First Sight (2020), a soft contact lens with a unique marker as a wearable security lock, which highlights lesser-known vulnerabilities in biometrics. This object is intended as social and artistic commentary, not as a functional product proposal for a commercial marketplace.

• Minso Kim is an international artist, educator, and researcher whose practice explores the relationship between analogue and digital worlds through human interaction. Together, her creative and academic works not only consider the sensorial experiences of art, but they meditate on human life infused with diverse categories, from the environment to computational systems, to popular culture. Kim’s artwork and writing have been shown and published in various countries: Minnesota State University, Universidad de Caldas, Short Film Festival Budapest, (Buk-)Seoul Museum of Art, and more. She graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with a master’s degree in art and technology studies in 2013. Minso has taught contemporary art practices and theory at universities from 2011 to 2017. Recently, Kim completed her doctoral degree in Emergent Technology and Media Art Practices at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA.