Digital Security – a Case in Geneva
How can digital security in Geneva and its invisible social contract be visualized? Cristian Duda, a reportage photographer, has been selected by Magnum Photos and the Edgelands Institute to develop a visual representation of this concept in Geneva, a main international hub.
Photo: Cristian Duda
Digital Security and the Social Contract
Digital technologies are ubiquitous in our living spaces both at the consumer and at the infrastructure level. They are a driving force for directing traffic, enabling transportation systems, ticketing and payments, controlling access to spaces, distributing or acquiring information. This means that state-deployed technology is entering people's lives - one prominent example being digital security. The Edgelands Institute is studying in several cities how to enable a social contract which works for citizens and does not abuse trust.
The Project / Magnum Photos
Cristian Duda (https://www.cristian-duda.com) is one of two photographers selected by Magnum Photos and the Edgelands Institute to develop a visual interpretation of the concept of digital security in Geneva guided by the Magnum Photographer Thomas Dworzak. How do areas which traditionally require security in Geneva, a main international and diplomatic hub, affect people's lives? Cristian Duda (CD) has talked to the Edgelands Institute (Edgelands) about his project.
Edgelands: What was your creative process for this project?
CD: My concept is based on a classical street photography style of capturing life as it unfolds. "Digital" is a volatile concept - it is everywhere, driven by data. However, it is hard to visualise "data" - we just use digital tools and see their effects. "Security" has a duality in itself: it is a personal need – and at the same time security is an institutional mandate to “provide security” to a person or society. Attention has been given to capturing ubiquitous but digitally-enabled life situations, e.g. payments, transportation, while including a variety of backgrounds or ages.
Edgelands: What were your biggest challenges and key takeaways?
CD: Firstly, scope: how to cover enough social contexts linked with digital services? Secondly, it was human-related: how to showcase privacy while not invading others' privacy? In areas which are more surveilled by physical security forces, I was mindful of red lines – e.g. in the airport, but also in public transportation, as I passed through a quite large group of security forces during their controls. When speaking about key takeaways I can mention two a) the ubiquity of digital security devices but also b) a lack of awareness of data being used about us at each moment – we “pay” services indirectly with data, and often we implicitly accept that.
Edgelands: How did this project contribute to your engagement in the surveillance debate?
CD: I have enlarged and discovered additional areas I had not initially thought as relevant: one area was payments - thinking how card data is being used and its high potential for surveillance including a camera observing you all the time at the cash machine / ATM. At the same time, one area I have not yet explored is health data – it has high potential for improving health outcomes for patients through more digital processes, but it is also highly sensitive. While photos were taken in 2022/2023, they are even more relevant today in 2024/2025 as Geneva has enshrined the right to digital integrity into its constitution.
Edgelands: What are your thoughts on the role of art in research?
CD: Research is a discovery process - from raising the right questions to understanding the problem and uncovering solutions. Art also helps us see, understand, cope, and find solutions. Photography adds a visual / art context to digital security, illustrating and uncovering relevant digital security situations and making them more transparent. This can lead a viewer to see the changing surveillance landscape, and either accept it or, on the contrary, start to search for constructive solutions. Dialogues of different social groups can be triggered by the photography. I invite you to watch the visual presentation of the photography and associated messages in sequence and start to form your own opinion.
Cristian Duda Biography
Cristian is a Swiss-Romanian photographer based in Switzerland, between Zurich, Geneva, Bern and also Transylvania. Having experienced the fall of communism, he is focused on storytelling of changing destinies – from the impact of ageing to digitalization, to entrepreneurs or artists embracing foreign lands. You can visit his website here: https://www.cristian-duda.com.
