ID 2.100.

2023

Virtual Photography

Photo booth ePhoto, Printed photo booth image

15x10 cm

ID 2.100. (Identity 2.100.) is a photographic project created by Maxim Zmeyev, comprising a series of images taken in an ePhoto booth to acquire an official French document, the residence permit known as "titre de séjour." For the project, the facial recognition system was "tricked" by using portraits of avatars created in popular multiplayer video games instead of real individuals. These avatar portraits, which feature throughout the project, were made by the artist and are based on visual references from documentary photographs of real refugees taken by photojournalists worldwide and published in 2022 and 2023.

Before entering a new gaming world, each player designs their own avatar- how they look and how other players will perceive them. In most multiplayer video games and metaverses, there are highly developed character editors that allow users to finely tune and create avatars, ranging from rough pixelated figures in Minecraft to photorealistic images in GTA V. After creating their character, the game or metaverse allows the player to enter its world, where they engage in activities like surviving, having fun, earning money, communicating, and more. In the physical world, one's "avatar" is their photograph on official documents, enabling them to participate in society by obtaining rights to live, work, travel, and access medical care.

Like many others in 2022, the artist became a refugee. According to the UN, the number of refugees surpassed 100 million in 2022, driven in part by the war Russia initiated against Ukraine. Since November 2022, he has been residing in France. Much like countless refugees and forced migrants, he is now in the process of creating his own "Avatar" - by obtaining new official documents. When taking a photo for his residence permit at a Photomaton booth, the digital portrait is automatically entered into the French database, assigned a unique digital code, and thus, the artist’s face becomes part of his official identity.

In ID 2.100., the artist explores the parallels between acquiring identity and subjectivity in both physical and digital worlds. The project prompts reflection on the relationship between the individual and the State, as well as the societal control mechanisms surrounding identity. It also raises questions about the materiality and authenticity of virtual photography. This project contributes to a contemporary discourse on portraiture, asking: what constitutes a portrait today? Is it the material representation found in a document photo or the virtual avatar in a digital environment? How are we perceived by thousands of users across metaverses, multiplayer games, and social networks?

Each photograph in this project was created by first capturing the avatar within the in-game character editor, then photographing the resulting image in the Photomaton booth using the "Photo for Residence Permit" mode, printing the image in the booth, and finally scanning the print to create a digital copy. The process of creating each photo mirrors the complex bureaucratic procedures every refugee or migrant undergoes. Furthermore, "visual artifacts" emerge at various stages of photo creation, symbolizing the personal transformations experienced by those forced to seek asylum in foreign lands.

The gallery’s sequence of photos is arranged according to the release dates of the video games in which the avatars were created.

ID 2.100. project by Maxim Zmeyev consists of 100 photographs.