Canceling Faces: The Erasure of Facial Identity in Public, Media, and Digital Spaces

This interdisciplinary symposium explores the multifaceted concept of “Canceling Faces” in public, media, and digital realms, with a focus on urban and constructed environments and their hybrid counterparts. Through historical, technological, and sociocultural lenses, we examine the ways in which facial representations are altered, erased, or masked, impacting identity perception and societal interaction. The symposium draws on diverse disciplines including semiotics, visual anthropology, digital humanities, and AI technology to address three core areas: the ancient practices of damnatio memoriae and their cultural significance; the challenges and biases inherent in automatic face recognition technologies, and the antagonist use of masks as tools of protest and subversion in contemporary movements; and the emerging a erased facial myths in contemporary media. This gathering of scholars, technologists, artists, and activists aims to dissect the implications of facial recognition and anonymity, offering insights into the evolving relationship between facial identity and societal structures in the age of digital communication.