de-surveillance (2009)

by 1051556

A 'malfunctioning' security camera failed to notice one specific type of blue colors. The camera was attached to the facade of a police building. On a big projection screen underneath the camera, the audience could see itself being monitored. Five meters away from the malfunctioning camera was a booth with two assistants handing out blue items and clothing to the audience. Hiding behind these blue objects brought invisibility. By looking trough an invisible balaclava or trough an invisible burqa, people could watch the live monitor and see themselves disappear from the surveillance camera.

It was presented to the public as the discovery of an exploit in the Rotterdam surveillance camera system. The handing out of the blue clothing and accessories was therefore presented as a 'hack' of the security system.

When asked if the failure to detect this type of blue applied to all camera's in the city, the ...

Full Description

A 'malfunctioning' security camera failed to notice one specific type of blue colors. The camera was attached to the facade of a police building. On a big projection screen underneath the camera, the audience could see itself being monitored. Five meters away from the malfunctioning camera was a booth with two assistants handing out blue items and clothing to the audience. Hiding behind these blue objects brought invisibility. By looking trough an invisible balaclava or trough an invisible burqa, people could watch the live monitor and see themselves disappear from the surveillance camera.

It was presented to the public as the discovery of an exploit in the Rotterdam surveillance camera system. The handing out of the blue clothing and accessories was therefore presented as a 'hack' of the security system.

When asked if the failure to detect this type of blue applied to all camera's in the city, the reply was "yes". Thereby extending the impact of the work to a bigger timespan than just the two days of the festival, during which the modified system was in use. So from now on, people -not- becoming invisible for a Rotterdam surveillance camera will think it's because they are not wearing the right type of blue. It was a temporary work, but it lives on actively now in the minds of people who witnessed the miracle of "de-surveillance" invisibility.

The installation annex intervention was presented by the ShowroomMAMA gallery during the "Wereld van Witte de With" festival in Rotterdam in September 2009.

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