These cameras are made for watching (2020)
IP security camera, monitor, MAX/MSP/Jitter, speakers
A monitor displaying CCTV live surveillance footage (with a three-second delay) is installed on the other side of a front door of a house such that the viewers need to look through the door’s window to see the monitor. An IP camera is hidden above the door, and tracks the viewer's movement through custom programming. Depending on how the viewer “behaves” the live surveillance feed is interrupted by one of five pre-recorded videos (which was recorded through the same camera). A loud knocking sound plays when the video is triggered to encourage the viewer to peek back through the door.
This interactive, site-specific video installation playfully tackles notions of digital surveillance, balancing the intricacies of seeing and wanting to be seen. I was thinking about what a difference lockdowns make in how you present yourself to the world—especially when there are very few chances to do so live. What changes when there is no one watching, observing, glancing, peeking, looking, surveilling (that you know of) for months on end? I wanted to explore the space between surveilling yourself and surveilling others.
