The Observed and the Observer
Artist talk by Tong Wu and Barak Chamo on their work Panopticon.
Sunday, June 9, 1pm
@ El Museo Cultural in the theater
CURRENTS 2019 main exhibition venue
555 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe, NM
In the age of mass surveillance and commoditized information, we are all, willingly or not, constantly watched. Our devices, online presence, transaction history and even physical presence have become an asset for social network, world governments and corporations to own – we live in a digital panopticon devoid of consent and, in many cases, even awareness.
Through Panopticon, the artist duo, Tong Wu and Barak Chamo, created an experience of being both the “observed” and the “observer”. It is a critique and a wakeup call to the alarming prevalence of mass surveillance all around us, to how tracking and surveillance devices have become largely invisible to us and to how insensitive we have become towards invasion of our privacy.
In this talk, they will discuss the motivations and process behind the creation of “Panopticon”, their use of technology in making work that examines its impact on society, and building a hybrid creative practice that incorporates emerging media and new technology.
