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I have an e-mail address registered with Gmail and thus I have access to all applications provided by Google. Google Maps Timeline (GMT) keeps a record of all my journeys, locations, time spent walking, but also journeys undertaken with other means of transport (car, bus, underground, train, plane etc.), registering my position and the places I’ve been to in my Google account, even if I am not using Google Maps, or my location is turned off. GMT allows me to modify or delete all entries from my location history. The timeline is private, only I having access to all the journeys and places I’ve been over the years.
For a month, beginning on the day the state of emergency was declared in Romania, I kept a visual diary which I developed on the subject of the limitation, restriction or even banning of certain rights and liberties, using my private information recorded by Google Maps Timeline. The result of this experiment is comprised of 30 abstract drawings identified as an area or perimeter, based on the maps automatically generated by GMT during my short trips to the shops or walking the dog around my home.
Last year, in 2019, for a period of two months, I used the maps from GMT to make another set of works. I made those drawings as a form of protest because Google had recorded in their application so much data about my trips. I was vexed by the fact that I was felling monitored, but I resolved to use the information Google had stored regarding all the places I’ve been to. Subsequently I discovered I could deactivate this service, but I decided to keep using it due to its utility as a mnemonic trigger. Google Maps Timeline kept track of my journeys so I was able to review them under the form of personal maps of intricate shapes.
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