Human Barcode II presents the individual reduced to data. The figure stands isolated, head bowed, identity erased and replaced by a barcode, a symbol of commodification, surveillance, and systemic control. The barcode does not merely obscure the eyes; it becomes the face. The red line cutting through the code functions simultaneously as censorship, violence, and resistance. It evokes scanning beams, border checks, digital profiling, and algorithmic judgment, the unseen forces that now determine worth, access, and legitimacy. Unlike its predecessor, Human Barcode II is more solitary, more resigned. There is no movement forward, no crowd, only stillness. The figure is neither protesting nor escaping, but existing within the system, marked and processed. By stripping the background entirely, Mr Phantom removes distraction and context, forcing the viewer to confront the subject as data rather than person. The work asks an uncomfortable question: at what point does identity stop being human and start being readable?
