Mimi Ọnụọha

Nigerian American artist Mimi Ọnụọha explores the power of classification and how technology shapes our sense of identity in her video Us, Aggregated 3.0.

The video combines personal family photos from the artist’s collection with images found through Google’s reverse-image search, which uses algorithms to find visually similar pictures when an image is copied into the search bar. Ọnụọha’s personal photos, previously unseen online, are shown alongside images from Google’s vast database, creating a seemingly unified community of people who are connected only through technology. The viewers experience an endless scroll through these assorted images, which highlights how technology companies systematically collect and organize massive amounts of data.

By blending human- and machine-driven classification, Ọnụọha challenges the idea of a singular, unified “us” and raises important questions about who holds the power to decide how we are categorized. (15:41 mins., video)

In addition to this screening in The Box, visitors can join a conversation with Ọnụọha and Simone Browne, Associate Professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, on October 9, 2025. This dialogue is organized by the History of Art and Art & Technology departments and is part of the Arts, Technology and Social Change series, a micro-residency program sponsored by Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme.