Photo series · Index
Traces of Surveillance
36 cameras photographed2015 – present20 single8 dome8 group
Abstract
Historically, privacy was almost implicit because information was hard to find. In today’s digital world, sources of information are nearly always available. Control seems to be the key to accessing this complex world of information. So privacy becomes an anomaly.
I stage tools of surveillance that usually sit at the edge of our awareness, focusing on the fact that it is almost impossible to leave no traces, just like in the digital world.
TOS-0152.527° N13.407° EWhite surveillance camera on a pale wall, its shadow falling diagonally, next to a strip of yellow brick TOS-0252.504° N13.398° ECamera on a curved arm in the corner of a white room, casting a soft shadow TOS-0352.405° N13.058° ESmall white camera high on a salmon-pink facade above two narrow slit windows TOS-0452.507° N13.352° ECamera on a light stone facade between bands of dark windows, in raking sunlight TOS-0552.405° N13.058° EPole with several cameras and a sensor box in front of a white wall TOS-0652.414° N13.088° ECluster of cameras on a pole against a cloudy sky, framed by dark trees TOS-0752.402° N13.054° EWhite camera on a bracket below a light switch on a plain white wall TOS-0852.505° N13.333° ECamera on a white ledge in front of a building with staggered square windows Statement
The watchers become the watched
My artistic practice grew out of my work in user experience design, where I deal with data ecosystems, digital trust and security. What interests me is how something as abstract as data collection shows up physically in the places we move through every day.
In »Traces of Surveillance« I photograph the tools of that observation: surveillance cameras. They sit at the edge of our attention, mounted on facades, tucked into corners, mostly unnoticed. My photographs give them the attention they usually avoid. I work with muted colour, calm surfaces and a lot of negative space, so the cameras start to read as sculptural objects rather than infrastructure.
The idea behind the work is a simple reversal. These systems monitor us constantly. By photographing them, the camera points back.
TOS-0952.490° N13.314° EDome camera in a ceiling between two light strips above a wooden wall TOS-1052.509° N13.370° ETall pole with several cameras against a grey sky, city buildings below TOS-1152.501° N13.354° ECamera on a grey-blue metal facade next to a projecting blue glass section TOS-1252.515° N13.378° EDome camera on a lamp post in front of a pale stone building with barred windows TOS-1352.520° N13.386° EDome camera on a ceiling above a convex safety mirror in a white hallway TOS-1452.513° N13.398° ECamera on an arm beside a barred window and a globe lamp on a sandstone wall TOS-1552.517° N13.386° ETwo cameras on either side of a concrete building corner TOS-1652.389° N13.029° EWhite dome camera hanging from a pipe in front of a turquoise tiled wall TOS-1752.505° N13.319° ECamera suspended on metal rods under a dark wooden roof TOS-1852.500° N13.375° ESmall camera below a white-framed window on a red brick wall TOS-1952.531° N13.383° EDome camera on a building corner clad in cream tiles with a blue band TOS-2052.405° N13.059° ETwo cameras on a pole in front of a weathered stone corner TOS-2152.520° N13.376° ECamera on a beige stone wall below a band of glass windows TOS-2252.389° N13.029° ERound camera on a wall of pale stone blocks, its cable running down TOS-2352.520° N13.386° EBox camera with a white cable mounted in a white corner TOS-2452.413° N13.069° EPole with a camera and a dome camera against a clear blue sky, treetops below Quote
»Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.«
TOS-2552.513° N13.389° ECamera on a bracket at the corner of a white building beside a granite column TOS-2653.074° N8.805° ECamera on the corner of a pale concrete building with angled surfaces TOS-2750.924° N6.968° ESmall camera on a blue facade at the edge of a projecting corner TOS-2847.809° N13.038° ECamera on a curved silver-grey ceiling with a bent conduit TOS-2950.088° N14.420° ESmall camera tucked under the gilded ornament of a stone arch TOS-3052.396° N13.060° ETwo dome cameras on pale stone pillars in front of a pink wall TOS-3148.178° N11.556° ESilver camera on an angular blue-grey metal facade above a door TOS-3252.470° N13.368° EWhite camera on a deep blue facade TOS-3352.505° N13.322° ESmall dome camera on the edge of a white building next to green leaves TOS-3452.523° N13.370° EDome camera on a bracket at the top of a stone building against a blue sky TOS-3547.558° N10.750° EDome camera on an arm below a double-arched stone window TOS-3655.639° N12.578° EMulti-lens camera on a pole between perforated metal panels