Friday, February 13, 2015 — 7-11 pm
Interactive video installation by Andrew O’Connor
Sonic accompaniment by Aaron Hutchinson
Artist Statement
Technology and surveillance are interweaved in Andrew O’Connor’s interactive video installation, Through the Eyes of the Machine. the piece invites participation. As viewers enter, their movement through and/or around the space is monitored and translated into recorded fragments that metamorphose and decay through the passage of time. What we see, hear and experience is continually being monitored. As technology advances, so does the mode of surveillance. In Through the Eyes of the Machine, viewers are able to watch themselves being monitored as it is happening in real-time and observe how they are being watched through the all-seeing eyes of another entity, i.e. the machine. This installation draws attention to a number of issues we face in our technological society such as, the encroachment of privacy by corporations and governments, self- censorship and panoptic structures. For instance, most smartphones are equipped with cameras, microphones, biometric and Gps tracking technologies. We are familiar of this fact and use it to our benefit. We also like to contemplate that the CCTV cameras in public spaces are peeping at us. However, generally speaking, we sometimes forget that tracking technologies and cameras are literally everywhere around us, constantly watching and collecting information about us. even in our own homes, information communication technologies, such as smart TVs or the Internet, are all capable of monitoring our activity, recording our conversations and selling this information to third parties. the danger of this is that not only is this an intrusion to our privacy, but that this information can be scrutinized and used against us. Furthermore, when people assume that they are in a state of constant visibility, they internalize the surveillance to a point where they restrain their true thoughts and opinions from being voiced publically, thus promoting self-censorship. By shifting the public’s behavior, the efficiency of the institution is maximized. It assures the function of power to the state and corporations, even when there is no entity actually maintaining it. As a result, the panopticon operates automatically. Through the Eyes of the Machine brings to light the ever-evolving modes of technological surveillance. the viewer is invited to participate in this installation, experience the role of the surveyor and contemplate their societal role as the surveyed.
Bio
Andrew O’Connor is a Hamilton, ON. based painter, animator, designer and new media artist. He completed his undergrad in Studio Art and Multimedia at McMaster University and is a recent graduate of the Computer Animation programme at Sheridan College. He is a co-founder and curator of Hamilton Audio/Visual Node (HAVN), an artist-run community centre specialized as an art gallery, music venue, community darkroom, record label and studio space. Andrew is also a Digital Media Specialist working at McMaster University with the McMaster Institute for Innovation and Excellent in Teaching and Learning.
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