Open Access Security is a series of works by Yucef Merhi that examines the life and legacy of Aaron Swartz, an internet pioneer and activist whose groundbreaking contributions included the development of RSS, Creative Commons, and the fight against internet censorship through his leadership in defeating the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The series reflects on Swartz’s advocacy for open access to information, as well as the federal investigation and prosecution that followed his downloading of academic articles from JSTOR, culminating in his tragic death in 2013.

Merhi employs a unique artistic system called the “datagram,” a spatial ordering method he developed in 1998. Using laser-printed text arranged in mathematical-geometric patterns, the works transform Swartz’s story into dense textual landscapes on aluminum supports. This technique creates abstract compositions that connect to a Venezuelan artistic tradition of geometric abstraction while addressing contemporary issues of information accessibility and digital rights.

The series was developed as part of Merhi’s research at MIT’s Open Documentary Lab, where he has been a fellow and collaborator. By highlighting the act of intercepting and reorganizing information, Open Access Security not only honors Swartz’s legacy but also challenges viewers to consider the ethical dimensions of data ownership and access in the digital age.