In an interview with Bored Panda, Paolo shared what gave him the idea to create this project.
“It’s about privacy and personal data bridged between the physical and virtual worlds. It’s street art that exposes how big tech harvests data from our lives and cities. This project aims to increase our perception of privacy and raise awareness about the abuse of big tech,” wrote Paolo.
Paolo also shared the process regarding the “Street Ghosts” project with us. He wrote: “I focus on a particular city, then a neighborhood or even a specific street. I look for individuals captured by Google’s car camera, considering the most interesting photos and locations. I estimate their heights, print their photos, create silhouettes, and then wheat-paste the posters directly on the walls—sometimes at night secretly, other times with the support of art institutions.
We were wondering how Paolo thinks people's views on privacy and surveillance have changed over time. The artist wrote: “Since I started in 2012, views on privacy and surveillance have changed significantly. It's still in flux; After 2016, people became obsessed with their privacy, but post-COVID, many seem less concerned about surveillance. However, it always depends on how personal it gets. When it concerns you personally, it becomes serious. That’s why this project resonates—this could be the print of you posted on the wall of your city.”
Using real people’s images must have gotten all sorts of reactions. We were curious whether any of the people whose images Paolo used in "Street Ghosts" have reached out to him.
Paolo wrote: “The reactions vary widely; some love it and find it funny, while others are concerned and worried. It consistently generates interesting responses even after 12 years. These figures are visually striking and often in unusual postures; people enjoy mimicking them and sometimes ask to be one of them.”
Lastly, we asked what message Paolo hopes that "Street Ghosts" sends to the audiences.
The artist wrote: “We are all ghosts of the digital realm already. Tech companies will use our photos and images to resurrect us in the future without our consent or control. We will become digital AI ghosts, appearing on screens—glitchy and strange—while our personal lives will be exposed and manipulated.”
Paolo added: “We need to take control of our future ghosts now.”
