A stand on privacy: Life-size photos of pedestrians caught by Google Street View cameras have been fixed on the buildings where they were taken in Lincoln.
Street Ghosts on Campus Way in Lincoln from Paolo Cirio. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite | View the Street View
Eight life-size photos of pedestrians caught by Google Street View cameras have been fixed on the buildings where they were taken as part of an art installation for Lincoln Frequency festival.
The project by Italian artist Paolo Cirio is called Street Ghosts and brings blurry images of pedestrians seen on Google Maps to the real world.
His project has seen international exposure, with Street Ghosts found in the United States, Australia and across Europe.
In Lincoln, five Street Ghosts can be found around Campus Way at the University of Lincoln and three on Flaxengate, near The Collection.
Street Ghosts on Campus Way in Lincoln from Paolo Cirio. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite | View on Street View
The photos are printed on thin paper and then affixed with wheatpaste at the precise spot on the wall where they appear in the Google Street View image.
Google’s Street View service captured images of Lincoln streets initially in 2009, and most of the city is available to explore from a computer screen.
Street Ghosts on Campus Way in Lincoln from Paolo Cirio. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite | View on Street View
Speaking to The Lincolnite, Paolo Cirio said: “It took me one year to come out with a concept, beyond just finding access to a wide-format printer.
“I think by working on the blurring pictures of people from the past suggested me the title for the project.
“When I published the project, internet companies, like Google, didn’t have any policy about personal data of people who pass away, they just wanted to keep any information they collect forever and trade it without asking permission.
“Today these issues are better regulated, however those companies will always try to misappropriate and store public and private information and sell it back to us.
“Street Ghosts reveals this abusive business model by reconfiguring the simple visual exposure and the context in which the pictures are displayed.
Street Ghosts on Flaxengate in Lincoln from Paolo Cirio. Photo: Elizabeth Fish | View on Street View
“It did shock people quite a lot and surprising for me too, as I would be more concerned to be on a Google Map forever and visible by anyone in the world rather than on a wall of an unknown street for a short time.
“That reaction is due to a shifting cultural perception of our privacy and what is public in the Internet world and what is private in the physical world; it underlines how people should be educated about these new environments before they lose their rights.
Street Ghosts on Campus Way in Lincoln from Paolo Cirio. Photo: Chris Brandrick | View on Street View
Paolo Cirio said reactions to his Street Ghosts project was varied, depending on the country and their cultures.
“In Germany it generated surely more concern, as culturally Germans are quite sensitive to their privacy.
“For instance, in Switzerland the service has been banned since 2009. Privacy is a cultural and personal conception, a human right that deserves to be respected.”
Street ghosts dart around the perimeter of The Collection museum. Art by Paolo Cirio. Photo: Emily Norton for The Lincolnite
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Lockdown restrictions will be partially lifted for Christmas, allowing up to three households to meet in an ‘exclusive bubble’.
The plans are yet to be officially confirmed by government, however, according to major outlets including BBC News and Sky News, it will mean that in the five day period between December 23-27:
Three households will be able to form an exclusive “bubble” and meet indoors
Travel restrictions will be also be lifted
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove on Tuesday afternoon chaired a meeting with the first ministers of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to agree the plans.
It is understood there will be some minor changes to the initial plans for each of the nations.
Travel restrictions are also set to be lifted during the same period and some overnight stays will be allowed.
In a briefing on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I can’t say that Christmas will be normal this year, but in a period of adversity, time spent with loved ones is even more precious for people of all faiths and we all want some kind of Christmas — we need it.
“But what we don’t want is to throw caution to the winds and allow the virus to flare up again, forcing us all back into lockdown in January.
“This virus is not going to grant a Christmas truce. It doesn’t know Christmas and families will need to make a careful judgement about the risks.”
There have been 209 new coronavirus cases and 24 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 118 new cases in Lincolnshire, 51 in North Lincolnshire and 40 in North East Lincolnshire.
It also registered 16 deaths in Lincolnshire, four in North Lincolnshire and four in North East Lincolnshire.
These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported nine local hospital deaths on Tuesday. Five were at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and four were at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust. This takes the total number of hospital deaths in the county to 477.
On Tuesday, national cases increased by 11,299 to 1,538,794, while deaths rose by 608 to 55,838.
Lincolnshire COVID-19 deaths up to November 24.
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases at the University of Lincoln has more than halved this week. It currently has 61 coronavirus cases — 58 students and three staff.
The man in charge of care homes in Lincolnshire said extra precautions are still needed for visitors, besides twice-weekly rapid testing, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined in his winter plan on Monday.
In national news, new figures show weekly COVID-19 deaths in England and Wales are at the highest level since May.
The transport secretary announced that international visitors will be able to reduce their quarantine time by more than half from December 15, provided they purchase a COVID-19 test after five days.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire for Tuesday, November 24
24,047 cases (up 209)
14,783 in Lincolnshire (up 118)
4,412 in North Lincolnshire (up 51)
4,852 in North East Lincolnshire (up 40)
745 deaths (up 24)
485 from Lincolnshire (up 16)
133 from North Lincolnshire (up four)
127 from North East Lincolnshire (up four)
of which 477 hospital deaths (up nine)
251 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up five)
9 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
216 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up four)
1,538,794 UK cases, 55,838 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Geordie comedian Sarah Millican will perform at four Lincolnshire venues next year as part of her new UK tour Bobby Dazzler.
Sarah, who is married to fellow comedian Gary Delaney and has appeared on various TV panel shows, will visit Lincoln, Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Skegness between July and October 2021.
Tickets will be available for general sale from 10am on Friday, November 27 – see more details here.
However, anyone on Sarah’s mailing list will have access to book at 10am on Wednesday, November 26. The first 5,000 tickets that get sold to mailing list members will have no booking fee.
Tickets are priced at £27.50 before any venue charges. The booking fee will only be £1.50 per ticket.
Lincolnshire shows
The Baths Hall, Scunthorpe – July 16 and 17
Grimsby Auditorium – August 21
Embassy Theatre, Skegness – September 1
The Engine Shed, Lincoln – October 27 and 31
As well as the UK and Ireland leg of the tour, Sarah is working on booking some international dates in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America.
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