Surveillance Chess - Hijacking CCTV Cameras in London
Equipped with an interfering transmitter !Mediengruppe Bitnik hacks surveillance cameras in pre-Olympic London and assumes control. The artist collective replaces real-time surveillance images with an invitation to play a game of chess. The security staff's surveillance monitor located in the control room becomes a game console.
Full Description
London. On the brink of the Olympic Games. A tube station in one of the most surveilled public spaces in the world. !Mediengruppe Bitnik intercepts the signal of a surveillance camera: Business people making their way to the Underground, a man in a suit looking for the right exit. From the left, a woman with a yellow suitcase walks into the frame of the surveillance camera. She opens her suitcase and activates a switch. This is the moment when Bitnik takes over. The CCTV operator experiences total loss of control. The surveillance image drops out, a chess board appears on the surveillance monitor and a voice from the loudspeakers says: «I am controlling your CCTV camera now. I am the one with the yellow suitcase.» The image jumps back to the woman with the yellow suitcase. Then the image switches to the chess board.«How about a game of chess?», the voice asks. «You are white. I am black. Call me or text me to make your move. This is my number: 07582460851.»
Work metadata
- Year Created: 2012
- Submitted to ArtBase: Wednesday Aug 8th, 2012
- Original Url: http://chess.bitnik.org/
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Work Credits:
- Mediengruppe_Bitnik, primary creator
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