Julia Weist is the only licensed private investigator in America whose work is in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art. In 2022, the artist positioned her practice as the investigative experience required to earn a license and was approved; she now has access to information that’s collected and sold to law enforcement, including a database of timestamped images of vehicles on the road.
In a series of works made with this access, Weist presents surveillance photos of cars layered over satellite photography showing the location of image capture. Using a system designed to identify cars by their license plates, Weist discovered that nearly any text found in public is searchable through this investigative tool: lawn signs, bumper stickers, lost pet flyers, words on clothing. Weist visualizes the enormity of this loophole in photographic prints that feature results for terms such as proud, believe and artwork.
The widely varied landscapes shown in the works—from the deserts of the southwest to the lush greenery of the east coast—and the vast ideological ranges represented (from “proud ally” to “proud to hire American”) begins to hint at the massive scale of this ubiquitous surveillance.
Dream Believe Achieve, Believe There is Good in the World, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Thou Shalt be Saved, Christmas Believe, Believe Pest Control, Believe People Will Never Forget, Believe Doubt, Believe, I Believe, We Believe, In this House We Believe, Believe, Believe, We Believe Black Lives Matter, Believe, 2024
37 x 55 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
Lost from the DRNsights Database, 2024
19 x 33 3/4 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
Honk if you’re driving or horny or love Jesus or if parts fall off or if a kid falls out or if Hellen Keller is a fraud or if you can see my weiner or if you’ve never seen a gun fired from a vehicle or if you do everything people tell you to do or if you’re the drama, 2024
29 1/16 x 54 3/8 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
Proud, Proud American, Proud to Hire American, Built Proud, Proud Veteran, Community Proud, Proud Local, Proud Mom, Proud Dad, Proud Alumni, Proud Ally, 2024
28 13/16 x 53 3/8 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
OUTATIME, 2024
37 13/32 x 51 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
Found from the DRNsights Database, 2024
11 1/4 x 19 7/8 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
PCE, 2024
18 5/8 x 31 25/32 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
Artwork (South Carolina) from the DRNsights Database, 2024
11 1/4 x 19 7/8 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP
Satan from the DRNsights Database, 2024
11 1/4 x 19 7/8 inches
archival pigment print
Edition of 3 + 1AP