IMSI Mist

This work is a reflection on the overwhelm and heaviness experienced by the daily routine dealing with the large extension and dense population of Mexico City: an opaque and constant mist that is always present. Taking as a point of departure our relation with technology, the artist reveals a layer of the city that is invisible to the eye by hacking the cellular network in the subway to collect the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMSI) of its endless users. The artist programed the visualization of the IMSI numbers to appear randomly over reflective acrylics that remind us of the colors of the subway lines in an immersive and shattering video installation. With this action, he exposes how the overcrowded public space and the anonymity produced by the telecommunication system, flattens and standardizes the human aspect of the network and the shared space.

— Andrea Valencia