Barcodes (2003)
Barcodes are carriers of information. However, this information has been obscured by an abstract language of parallel lines. Each barcode is scanned and all product information may be directly linked to our private data which businesses may obtain by means of the magnetic strip in our banking cards or customer cards. Between 2003 and December 2004 two series of barcodes and a leporello have been realized. The series consist of 75 different barcodes each. The leporello is made up of a series of 12 bar- codes based on the theme ‘art and kitsch’. All these barcodes make us aware of the fact that they are carriers of information. The first series of barcodes consist of two contrasting six letter words. For instance: ‘KOSMOS MONADE’ (COS- MOS MONADE) or ‘DENKEN VOELEN’ (THINKING FEELING). The second series of barcodes consists of two three letter ab- breviations that are in some way related. This series exclu- sively used abbreviations that are familiar to a Dutch audience. They were taken from the world of chatting and texting, (con- tact) ads, newspapers, the medical world and the car industry. In the series of abbreviations the definition of the meaning of the barcode is partly obscured by the abstraction of the abrviation itself. The barcodes Satijn used are based on a coding system de- vised by the artist himself. Similarities with codes used in trade are purely coincidental.