Trevor Paglen

Steyerl shares Paglen's commitment to investigating surveillance, artificial intelligence, and the politics of images through video and installation work. Both artists use conceptual and research driven methods to expose the hidden infrastructures of power and technology.

Simon similarly uses large format photography and rigorous research to expose concealed or overlooked systems of government, law, and institutional power. Her methodical documentation of secret and restricted spaces parallels Paglen's investigative photographic practice.

Sekula combined photography, text, and critical theory to examine geopolitical and economic systems, anticipating Paglen's fusion of documentary imagery with conceptual inquiry. Both artists treat photography as a tool for political and systemic critique rather than mere representation.

Ruscha's deadpan photographic documentation of vernacular American landscapes and structures informed Paglen's approach to photographing ordinary yet charged sites of power. His conceptual use of photography as a systematic survey tool resonates directly in Paglen's limit telephotography work.

Haacke pioneered institutional critique and the use of art to expose the hidden workings of political and corporate power, laying groundwork that Paglen extends into the domain of surveillance and intelligence infrastructure. His research intensive and confrontational conceptual practice is a clear antecedent to Paglen's methodology.

Rosler's politically engaged photographic and video work connecting militarism, media, and everyday life provided a model for Paglen's fusion of documentary practice with systemic political critique. Her long career investigating the invisible violences of government and war directly anticipates Paglen's subject matter.