Describe it
Pocket sized. A dark blue book with golden embroidery. The embroidery illustrates a scene where a kangaroo and emu stand apart and opposite one another, in between them is some sort of plaque. The interior of plaque is divided up into six seperate squares, with each square housing a different illustration inside it; a cross with straight edges, a crown with dots five dots scattered underneath, a double edged cross, the silhouette of what looks to be a bird – perhaps an eagle, a swan and then a lion. Above this symbol the letters A.U.S.T.R.A.L.I.A are printed in capitals, and at the bottom of the page the letters P.a.s.s.p.o.r.t are placed, all in lowercase despite the first letter ‘P’. Underneath this there is a rectangular symbol that is divided by a horizontal line. Placed in the middle of this line is a golden circle that is placed in the middle of the rectangle, no sides are touching.
The book is made up of 42 double sided pages. The pages are not lined, however, there is a background image on each page that displays an array of Australian cultural characteristics. The images are different on each page, but are systematically repeated. The third page is dedicated to identifying a person. There is a coloured image accompanied to the right by writing, printed on a landscape format. The image is a head shot of a person and covers 1/3 of the page. The edges of this image are curved, and the image is printed in colour. To the right of this image details are printed. In light blue is the subject matter asked and the response to this ‘question’ is written in black.This page is sealed with a gloss, which make it unlike the other pages which have a matte finish.
What does it do?
Identifies individuals on a global scale through universal law. It is a document that demonstrates, legally, a representation of that person by portraying that persons nationality, place of birth, age, name, physical appearance (since photo is printed in colour this demonstrates their eye colour, hair colour, weight, sex, race) and a depiction of their signature. Along with this it associates each person with a unique global code characterised as a passport number. This passport number is used as a legal credential and can be associated as a institutionalised signature that represents the individual and their rights and responsibilities within a state. Used on forms, the passport number declares an individuals legalities almost moreso perhaps then an individual’s personalised signature which usually acts as a declaration of acknowledgement.
It permits and negotiates entry into different countries and is a protection of liberties, which at times strain the legalities and clarity of a states sovereignty and power over individuals within it. It is legally an electronic documentation of travel records, not only portraying the countries in which an individuals has travelled to within a ten year period but also a demonstration of each countries sovereignty at that time, symbolised through each stamp provided to the passport at the gate. An e-chip, which combines paper and electronics that contains biometric information can be used to authenticate the identity of travellers. This standardised biometric uses facial recognition, finger print recognition and iris recognition. The E-chip’s ability to recognise provides a higher level of protection for an individual’s identity in the case where a passport is stolen and attempted being used.