Paolo

Portrait of the artist Paolo Cirio, in front of a wire fence. © Paolo Cirio

Cirio

Paolo Cirio intervenes in societal domains influenced by technology, media, politics, and economics, addressing human rights, economic inequality, social justice, and democracy. Through his work, Cirio explores the shadow side of technology, striving to challenge and rectify its misuse of power.

He is known for many actions, including defrauding Google in 2005, addressing the theft of e-books from Amazon in 2006, and the hacking of Facebook through publishing 1 million users on a dating website in 2011, among others. In 2020, he pirated over 100,000 Sotheby’s auction records and he attempted to profile 4000 French police officers with facial recognition. His early works include his cyberattacks against NATO and reporting on its military operations since 2001.

His artistic interventions and research projects are presented as installations, lectures, artefacts, photos, videos, and public art, both offline and online. Cirio has exhibited in international museums and has won prestigious awards. His artworks have been covered by hundreds of media channels, and he regularly delivers public lectures and workshops at leading art festivals and universities worldwide. 

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