Erosion is inspired by The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Dr. Shoshana Zuboff, professor emeritus of Economics at Harvard which describes the economic logic underlying the new form of capitalism that emerged in 2001 when Google first started using data “surplus” as the foundation for targeted ads and has since become the predominant economic model for internet revenue systems.

This text is the beginning of Mergens’ work exploring the conditions which created and perpetuate California’s systems wealth and power. It draws the parallel that just as the land was claimed in the pursuit of wealth, so too has our humanity been claimed by surveillance capitalism.

Erosion features handset type letterpressed on a Vandercook 4, 8 intaglio prints produced in a grid as one landscape and divided through the text, and hand pasted sheets of vellum which can be removed by the viewer.

Edition of 8
7.5”x11.5”x.5” (closed)
$500