“Show me what society that ever existed that did not use the tools that they had available. Ask any person from East Germany... you will never hear somebody say, 'The Stasi never bothered me because I didn't have anything to hide.' That's not a thing that people say.”

American artist, geographer, and author

Trevor Paglen is an American artist, geographer, and author known for work that examines mass surveillance and data collection. His practice brings together art and research, with an interest in the hidden systems that shape how information is gathered, stored, and watched. He writes and makes work around these themes, focusing on the structures behind surveillance rather than their public surface.