What Does the Nose Know?

‘What Does the Nose Know?’ is currently exhibited at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, BC. This thought-provoking sculpture critiques the invasive "nosiness" of corporations that collect and exploit personal data to manipulate our lives through social media. 

The dark sunglass lenses symbolize the secrecy and paranoia that permeates government, military, and corporate industries, reinforcing the notion that Big Brother is constantly watching.

By harvesting big data, corporations analyze our behaviors, beliefs, and biases, using this information to influence us as consumers and voters. The sculpture raises the unsettling question: Why do we lack control over the use of “Big Data”? Our privacy and freedom are increasingly at risk because we do not know exactly what the "Nose Knows”.

‘What Does the Nose Know?’ was originally fabricated in 2014 for the Gallery Without Walls exhibition in Lake Oswego, Oregon. After two years, it was featured in the Oak Bay Arts Alive exhibition near Victoria, BC, and later installed at the El Paseo Sculpture Exhibition in Palm Desert, California, from 2018 to 2020. 

This sculpture’s base, frame and eyeglass elements are made from scrap steel and aluminum, while the nose itself is crafted from CNC-sculpted dense styrofoam coated with a half-inch layer of epoxy.

This piece is now available for exhibition or lease.

Dimensions

9' (L) x 10' (W) x 14' (H)

Availability

LEASE - exhibit