Surveillance Surfaces:
An Exposure and Repositioning of Power of Surveillance in Space
sur.veillance [ser-vey-luhns]
French
‘sur’ which means ‘over’, ‘above’ or ‘from above’, and
‘veiller’ which means ‘to watch’.
sous.veillance [sü-vey-luhns]
French
'sous' which means 'under', 'below' or 'from below'
and‘veiller’ which means ‘to watch’.
ways of (not) being seen
The Privacy Piece is a jewellery range to protect and reclaim one’s identity from facial recognition technology. These lightweight, flexible pieces work by obstructing and disturbing one’s features such as the eyes, nose bridge and cheeks and make the users face undetectable to facial recognition algorithms.
ways of (not)looking
Mirror Walls
Surface of a Kaleidoscope
Mirror Maze
The Upside Down
Divided Views
Double Vision
This series of prototypes explore the nature of perception, and begins to question the way we see others and are seen by others and asks, what are we looking at beneath a surface? Through the use of these devices views and images are distorted, magnified, inverted, or multiplied.
These devices are used to expose the hidden layers and levels of surveillance that is used on a day-to-day basis and in doing so they present the understanding that what exists on the surface relies on what happens beneath it, to expose the hidden surveillance tools in city-spaces.
watching the watchers
Watching the Watchers is an exploration of surveillance and privacy through the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.
The surveillance cameras become the protagonist of the film. These devices that scan the everyday life and activities are monitored and exposed.
With the growing number of cameras, it becomes unsettling and quite strange when you start to see and take note of what the landscape of surveillance of Johannesburg actually looks like.
tools of surveillance
This series of drawings examines how surveillance may be understood as a tool of power and control in architecture, zooming in from the macro level that is, at an urban scale, to the micro level seen here at the scale of the human body and screen.
Boundaries of Surveillance first looks to the past to reveal the different types and tools of surveillance that were implemented during apartheid (the ring road/ constitution hill) to observe the city and its people. And comparing them to the tools of the present.
Choreography of a Controlled Space reveals the tools that are used today for surveillance and how the CCTV/gates intercoms and guards and the neighborhood watch WhatsApp groups control the spatial dynamics of the northern suburbs.
Street View of Surveillance and Language of Surveillance further reveal the hyper-layers of surveillance, that remain hidden and unseen to those that are observed.
THE LANGUAGE OF SURVEILLANCE
CHARACTER NAME 1
Hey, did any of you see anything
suspicious this morning?
CHARACTER NAME 2
Restriction on residence of coloured
persons on certain proclaimed land
CHARACTER NAME 3
Spotted, a teenage boy walking past my
house yesterday evening (opposite side of
the road). Hoodie and jeans. Please be
warned.
CHARACTER NAME 4
In any urban area or rural township
situated in the controlled area only in so
far as they relate to -
CHARACTER NAME 5
What happened?
CHARACTER NAME 1
(a) The husband, wife, minor child or
dependent of any person lawfully
occupying land or premises in such
areas or townships;
CHARACTER NAME 2
Yeah, I have 12 CCTV but nobody showed up
on anything
CHARACTER NAME 3
FOR USE BY WHITE PERSONS
CHARACTER NAME 4
Hope everyone ok, stay safe x
CHARACTER NAME 5
These public premises and the amenities
thereof have been reserved for the
exclusive use of white persons
CHARACTER NAME 6
Where was this?
CHARACTER NAME 7
WHITE AREA- by order secretary
CHARACTER NAME 8
Saw a guy with his hands in his coat
walking down the road
CHARACTER NAME 7
Suburban station for non-whites
CHARACTER NAME 8
Hey, did any of you see anything
suspicious this morning?
The script presents a fictional hybrid conversation that combines languages of surveillance and control of Johannesburg’s past to the language used today, to uncover the effect of surveillance on spatial dynamics that have shaped and continue to shape the city.
performances of surveillance
Performance of surveillance focuses on the reaction of the body to two different types of hyper-surveillance in public spaces.
The one extreme- is when the presence of surveillance is obvious. The second extreme is when surveillance is hidden, and unknown to those being observed.
And explore how the body operates in relation to the many hidden or revealed eyes watching.
Labyrinths and Agents of Surveillance
- Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport
- The Body Scan
-Passenger Surveillance
-Passport Control
-Check-in
Agents of Daily Surveillance
- CAP Glenhazel Safe Zone
Suncoast Casino Durban
The Watchers
The Watched
Pick n Pay Musgrave Centre
The Watchers
The Watched
blindspots of surveillance
blind.spot
- a portion of a field that cannot be seen or inspected with available equipment
- an area in which one fails to exercise judgment or discrimination
Hito Steyerl, How Not to be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File, (2013).
Prototypes of Invisibility
How to become invisible for a camera
1. block the view
How to become invisible by disappearing
2. use an invisibility cloak
How to become invisible in a picture
3. through disguise
Fold up/flat pack system that could be deployed at a moment’s notice in non-locations, such as on abandoned buildings, tree tops, electric boxes and utility poles to provide an off-grid radio network for digital messaging or working off the grid
How to become invisible
4. by merging into a world made of pictures.
At the entrance a camera that is connected to a black and white silent monitor, records people as they enter the blind.spot. By adding these objects designed to watch you, the device allows you to see yourself busy ‘looking’, Thus creating the opportunity to confront your own image through the lens of surveillance
Blind.spot device in in suburban context