Mark’s House, 2019

Mark’s House, 2019
3D printed PLA transparent plastic, aluminium modular extrusion system
8.2 x 12.8 x 16.7 cm

One of several works exploring the news media, data hacking, and Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook. The work was originally produced for State of Affairs, a solo exhibition by Bob Bicknell-Knight at Salon 75, Copenhagen, DK, 9th August – 15th September 2019.

In State of Affairs, Bicknell-Knight exhibits new and previous work in and around an aluminium modular extrusion system, used in office partitions and conveyor belts, concerning the news media, data hacking, and Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook.

Zuckerberg is a private person with a carefully crafted public persona. In public he preaches about digital transparency and encourages users of his social media platform to share as much as possible about their daily lives, stating that the world will become more open and connected by doing so, that a world that’s more open and connected is a better world. Simultaneously, in his private life, Zuckerberg purchased four houses around his home in Palo Alto, California, in 2013 for a total price of $30million. This was due to fears that a property developer was going to build a tall building behind his home, enabling the owners to see into his backyard. A transparent 3D printed sculpture of Zuckerberg’s home (Mark’s House, 2019) is present within the show, created by studying Google Maps’ in-depth satellite imagery.

In a series of new paintings (Mark’s First, Mark’s Second and Mark’s Fourth, 2019) Bicknell-Knight looks into the psyche and moral compass of the Facebook founder. Within the works Zuckerberg is portrayed as a trophy hunter, individuals who hunt wild game for recreational purposes. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stated that there was a year when Zuckerberg was only eating what he was killing and had a penchant for goat meat. Supposedly he would stun goats with a taser, cut their throat with a knife and have their bodies sent to a butcher to prepare. Being served goat for dinner whilst attending a dinner party at Zuckerberg’s house was Dorsey’s most memorable encounter with Zuckerberg. The new paintings imagine that Zuckerberg took this interest in animal killing further, becoming a trophy hunter. At the end of a successful hunt, the hunter will usually pose next to the slain animal for a photograph, to be distributed to friends and family members.

Other works in the exhibition include a replica of Zuckerberg’s grey t-shirt (Mark’s Shirt, 2019) that he wears every day, a Facebook thumbs up hat (Mark’s Hat, 2019), and a custom printed zip top handbag (Unattended Bag, 2018) depicting a slogan that was part of Facebook’s advertising campaign after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Inside the bag is a USB embedded within a gold 3D print of the CEO’s head, containing Bicknell-Knight’s Facebook data from the past ten years.

Mark’s House has been included in the following exhibitions:

– State of Affairs, curated by Theodor P. Nymark. At Salon 75, Copenhagen, DK, 9th August – 15th September 2019.