#urban istalation

[marqsar]

by Andrés Reisinger

[jackadeney]

Under Surveillance

For my project I have chosen to tackle the issue of surveillance on campus. What does it look like, how can we perceive it and what is it here for?

Surveillance is already a contentious debate, we are told that it is provided for our safety and our safety alone. Yet occasions have occurred in which surveillance has been used against us as a means of control.

When the established authority have the right to survielle our lives as much as they wish, who holds the right to set the boundary on what is surveillance, and what is a breach of our right to personal private living?

A number of artists have continuously attempted to tackle the issue of privacy and surveillance. Banksy for example has created graffiti all over the world in attempt to bring to our attention the government control under which we live. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-31539767

Above is one of his lesser known pieces, found in Cheltenham, UK- before it was ‘vandalized’ by graffiti artists. It was designed to depict government officials tapping into our conversations, listening in disguise without our knowledge or consent. Banksy is commonly known for providing anti establishment artwork all over the globe. 

Below is a picture of the inside of his famous “Walled -Off Hotel” in Bethlehem. On the wall you can see multiple different CCTV cameras mounted on the wall, as if claimed as a prize by the hunter. If you look closely you can see that the screens on the cameras have been covered with graffiti paint, again, a nod to the resistance. 

Many other installations have been created on the topic of surveillance, and each one attempts to bring to the forefront of our understanding something that by its very construction we cannot see. 

Jakub Geltner, a Cezch artist has made a number of istallations that attempt to combine the hard metal of the security infrastructure with nature. The picture below represents the security cameras intended to look like a flock of birds. Bringing the cameras to life almost makes the act of using the for surveillance more sinister. The rate at which they multiply around cities and urban infrastructures suggests that they could almost be breeding like pests. 

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wnpzgy/a-flock-of-surveillance-cameras-nests-on-the-beach

My installation takes the understanding of surveillance on campus and brings it into clear view. I would use the location of the Baraha, as it is one of the places on campus with greatest footfall, and I would project the live feed security footage of the campus onto the wall. Rod Dickinson uses the MI5 database in order to depict the terror threat level around the UK, and in doing so brings something that is intangible (the threat level) into a realm through which it can be physically interpreted. We attempt to do the same. 

The setup is simple, and naturally I am not physically able to get the footage of the campus CCTV. Tracing images below attempt to interpret how it would look. 

I would have the projector shoot from waist height. Having people walk between the projector and the wall will encourage them to look at the screen and engage with the installation. Having someone sitting opposite the wall, just watching attempts to represent the human aspect of the surveillance. One of the reasons we find surveillance so confusing is because all we can see is the eyes of the cameras. Remembering that there are people on the other end of the camera is what reminds us that there are people watching our every move, almost in a transcendent fashion. 

The installation would be clean and simple. It is a passive installation that is designed to do nothing but trigger a thought in the mind of the passer-by. It challenges the subject to define their comfort level with this form of system. Is it what they understood it to be, and was it what they signed up for? 

Written on the blackboard will be; “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” The CCTV images will then be projected over those words. 

Is this an attempt of those watching us to justify their actions? Is it true?