JPEG from A Vernacular of File Formats, (2009 - 2010), 2023 revisitation with hidden message in DCT
From
NFT:
non-fungible token ERC-721
Minted in 2023, 1/1.
medium: JPEG.
Print:
JPEG from A Vernacular of File Formats, (2009 - 2010), 2023 revisitation with hidden message in DCT, 1/1 (1AP).
gliclée print on paper.
sheet: 40 by 30.5 in. / 101.6 by 77.5 cm.
Executed in 2023, this work is unique aside one artist's proof.
In this work specifically created for the Sotheby's auction, I combined two existing pieces: A Vernacular of File Formats (2010) and DCT (2015). I selected my JPEG portrait from A Vernacular of File Formats as the source image for this piece, onto which I embedded a secret message using DCT Encryption.
A Vernacular of File Formats explores the various compression algorithms used to save and read (encode and decode) image data. In this work, I compressed the same source image, a self-portrait, via different algorithms (BMP, JPEG, GIF, etc). As a result, I collected a set of different image data files that all render into identically looking images. I then introduced a same or similar error to each file: I 'glitched them'. A method that introduces the normally invisible compression language to crack onto the surface of the image.
In DCT I use the aesthetics of JPEG glitches - known as macroblocking - to write and mask secret messages onto the surface of the image. At the basis of the JPEG compression sits the DCT algorithm, consisting of 64 macroblocks that together form the core ingredients of any JPEG image. I abstracted these 64 different macroblocks and mapped them onto the most used glyphs (0-9, A-Z, etc). The resulting font, titled DCT, can be used to stenographically write a message onto the surface of the image, mimicking a glitch.
The encrypted message in this new work reads:
"The true value of a work of art extends beyond its market, enwrapping both its cultural and historic significance."
https://beyondresolution.info/JPEG