What Are You Looking At?

2015

Wood, PETG, Screws, Conduit

 

We live in an age of surveillance; we are always watched by others such as through surveillance cameras even without our notice. Surveillance culture is becoming global and accelerating its evolution. I remember security cameras appear at a crossing just to record all the cars that pass by when I lived in China. After I move to America, I see fake security cameras being sold in Home Depot. This is the moment I first realized that YOU ARE LYING TO ME. People rarely complain about the places where the cameras should be installed, no one really questions if those cameras work or not. This project includes fake surveillance camera made by natural wood and actual installation in public. I would like to challenge the utility and functionality of cameras and the relationship between security and privacy, public and private realization. Observing the social reaction to those fake cameras, I find that people do believe the cameras are installed by authority, not artists. By using the CMYK as the color scheme, I want to remind people of how public products can also relate to commercial advertising culture, challenging people with this question: what are you looking at and what is looking at you?

 

 

对视    

不论是在东方还是西方，我们都生活在一个时时刻刻都被人“看”的年代，“监视”变得越来越全球化。我生活在中国的时候，有时会在一个十字路口的上方发现十多个监视器。来到美国后，当在商店里看到有卖“伪装监视器”的时候，我突然意识到：我某种程度上一直在被欺骗，很多监视器原来根本毫无功能性。生活中很少有人会抱怨监视器所放置的位置，也根本没有人去怀疑它们的真实性，因为它们来自于权威。我想通过这件作品来质问监视器的实用性以及安全和隐私的关系。通过观察对于这些伪装监视器的社会人群反映，虽然它们在颜色上和真实的监视器相差很多，但是我发现多数人还是会相信它们是被权威机构，而不是艺术家安装上去的。我也希望通过使用印刷四分色来提醒人们商业广告文化与公共商品之间的关系。