The concept of surveillance originally revolved around the idea that the authorities were watching over the inferiors in order to spy or control them (e.g., government spy, panopticon prison, etc.). However, with the rapid technology advancement today (such as camera on cell phones and web 1.0 to Web 2.0), surveillance seems to extend beyond that relationship between an authoratative figure watching over the oblivious inferior. It is what's happening everyday to everyone. People's activities are itemized and can easily be tracked down.
What really amazes me is how easy it is for one to track the other down, not just within one's own town or country, but to do so across the universe. This is so conveniently done today, especially on the web such as facebook, twitter, my space, blogs, etc. Being an international student, I have found this to be so convenient, as it makes it so easy to be connected to my friends and family all over the world, but at the same time, it gives me the creeps. They know almost everything about what is going on. We don't have to see each other for 5 years, but it's like we never separated because we keep track of each other on a regular basis.
For this project, I tried to capture 3 levels of surveillance of 10 different people from very different backgrounds, countries and cultures- the Netherlands, India, Jamaica, Vietnam, U.S.A. (NY), Bulgaria, U.S.A. (IA), South Korea, Bangladesh, and Zimbabue.
First, I took the eyes. Yes, taking pictures of eyes may be cliché for panopticon project. But I just wanted to make a point that our eyes function like cameras, no matter where we were born or where we grew up. Our Camera Eyes enable us to surveil. Because we are "visual creatures," because we rely on what we see, and because we like seeing what is going on, we post videos and pictures. And then we "facebook stalk" others in return. Our eyes are like cameras.
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| camera 02 |
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| camera 06 |
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| camera 08 |
For the second set, I tried to extend my view on a global scale. Like I said, we are constantly Watching Neighbors. By neighbors, I don't just mean nextdoor neighbors. Instead, I am talking about other countries. Yes, with Web 2.0, news, gossips, and (almost) everything we need to know and we want to know is passed back and forth across the borders and oceans. It's as though we are standing right against a person, watching. If you flip through the 10 pictures, you will notice that they are all connected in a chain. You think you are watching others, but you don't know that others are watching you in the mean time. Notice that the last person is being watched by the girl who was being watched in the 1st picture. The cycle represents the globe.
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02nd Neighbor |
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| 01st Neighbor |
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03rd Neighbor |
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| 04th Neighbor |
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| 05th Neighbor |
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| 06th Neighbor |
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| 07th Neighbor |
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08th Neighbor |
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| 10th Neighbor |
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| 09th Neighbor |
Last set brings one back to the concept of Self Surveillance. With the globalization and ability for one to watch others, you often forget that the person who is serveiling you the most is, in fact, yourself. The shadow is an analogy to this concept. It could be our consciousness, or the voice in your head. But it's nobody but you, who is controlling you in the end. And you will have to live with this one forever.
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Me & Myself 10 |
I like the idea that people who's watching other people are actually also being watched. the way you presented is pretty sharp and clear by having someone right next to other people watching them. It precisely portrayed the essence of what surveillance is. I like that you have people with different backgrounds and nationalities pose together to express this international surveillance idea.And the different angle of surveillance, from the orginal site, our eyes, to people watching people, and to we capturing moments of ourselves by staring at our shadows, really unwind this whole we live under surveillance idea.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool how you took this to a global scale, in a sense, with the parallel between people of different countries watching others from separate places. Governments watch each other all the time, just as we watch ourselves and others. I like that you unified the ideas of our own eyes as capturing the world with international surveillance and self-surveillance. It really ties everything together.
ReplyDeleteEven though pictures of eyes can be considered cliche, I think it was well-suited to your topic, and they were technically done very well. I loved the intense clarity you were able to get with your pictures, and it looks as though you captured them in natural lighting, which is also a bonus. Bringing surveillance to a global scale was a great idea, and I thought it tied in well to the purpose of Web 2.0, which is socialize people on a global scale. I think you took it to the next level by suggesting that this socialization also comes with the consequence of knowledge of one another's whereabouts, and definitely brings about the question of surveillance.
ReplyDeleteWorking locally but thinking globally runs through your work.
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