The spaces we navigate are often shaped by invisible forces that subtly influence our perceptions and interactions. My research, working with "Exposing the Invisible," delves into these unseen elements. The project began with a curiosity about the hidden dynamics that govern spaces—how different visually invisible things still have an impact on how we perceive space in ways we scarcely notice.
Our understanding of space is deeply intertwined with our beliefs and the subtle cues we unconsciously absorb. I aim to highlight how these invisible factors operate, affecting us in overlooked ways. Surveillance itself becomes a metaphor for broader observation—how we watch and are watched, and how this mutual observation influences our behavior. So this is what I decided would be the theme for my collection.
This investigative journey started with photographing surveillance cameras during strolls, later reflecting on these photographs. However, an urge arose to make my own camera models, to dictate their placement and experiment with their arrangement within a given space. I ventured to make the 'invisible' surveillance visible, aligning with my research. I embarked on creating pieces that would not only expose instances of surveillance but would turn them into characters and therefore creating presence, assigning them roles beyond their typical function. Yet, as the collection evolved, I recognized a potential oversight—a lack of tangible connection to scenography within the work, just mostly models of cameras.
The concept of surveillance time surfaced unexpectedly, emerging as a pivotal insight while finalizing my research catalog. Inspired by the multifaceted interpretations of time on Contantijd.nl, I discerned that the dimension of time could thread together the disparate elements of my work, anchoring them to scenography. This realization was an important one, arriving in the end of my project's development. With this newfound perspective, I tried to use surveillance time into my last experiment. This realization isn't prominently reflected throughout my research catalog. Yet, its presence is implicit; without the process of archiving my collection and the act of compiling the catalog, the concept of surveillance time might have remained missing.
The final experiment sought to work with the concept of surveillance time. Upon entering the room, you are greeted by a monitor displaying live surveillance feeds from around the world. You can scroll through and explore various streams, observing real-time activity across different locations. Eventually, you stumble upon a live feed of the very room you're in, though it's currently empty. After a moment, you see yourself appear on the screen, walking into the room and taking a seat.
This experiment I wanted to explore how surveillance can create an expansive sense of space, where a camera positioned in one corner of the world can instantly transmit its images to another, collapsing geography into the immediacy of now. This expansive sense of space becomes evident as surveillance reshapes one's perception of the room. By connecting to streams from distant places, the monitor links this room to other locations.
In this experiment I also tried to reflect how surveillance stretches time, where activity is preserved indefinitely through continuous recording, creating a unique and often disorienting blend of spatial and temporal compression. Finding oneself on the screen introduces a layer of temporal dissonance as viewers experience the disorienting feeling of observing their actions from a different perspective, revealing how surveillance time merges the immediate with the archival.
I was really pleased with where this was going and wanted to work this out more. This experiment and the text about surveillance time are the results of making this research catalog, shedding light on how the perpetual cycle of monitoring and recording changes both our perception of space and the nature of time itself.