Oliver Chanarin, Adam Broomberg, Spirit is a Bone, 2015

The series of portraits in this book, which include Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevic and many other Moscow citizens, were created by a machine: a facial recognition system recently developed in Moscow for public security and border control surveillance. The result is more akin to a digital life mask than a photograph; a three-dimensional facsimile of the face that can be easily rotated and closely scrutinised. This book is the result of a series of encounters, interactions and conversations between Broomberg & Chanarin and the photography collections at the Library of Birmingham made possible by a commission from GRAIN and the Library with support from the Arts Council of England.