Venues
WE ARE AIA I AWARENESS IN ART
Courtesy of the artist
Where surveillance technologies used to be a specialized part of urban public space mostly aimed at crime prevention and investigation, today surveillance in the form of automated data collection and analysis has become an essential part of contemporary infrastructure—from smart phones to social media, smart home devices, and beyond. Nowadays, surveillance is both hidden and pervasive in its structure and operation. It surrounds us as an “invisible infrastructure” that allows our devices to show us content tailored to “our” interests and respond to “our” desires.
But to what extent is mass observation and data access acceptable? Where is the fine line between new technological advances making our life easier—whether it is physical or virtual—and becoming manipulative?
Can You See Me Now? illuminates a variety of artistic and social tactics that address these questions and explore the shift from surveillance as technology to surveillance as infrastructure. The artists focus on making surveillance infrastructures visible by “performing” the technologies in unintentional, experimental ways. Visitors are able to discover new modes of interaction with the technology as well as possibilities to intervene in the systems beyond the aesthetic experience. The exhibition opens a debate about the use of data collection in defining citizens’ rights and liberties, while illuminating a new dimension of its creative potential.
Curated by:
!Mediengruppe Bitnik and Martina Huber
8005 Zürich
The walks bring the participants to search for the physical traces of offshore banking within the architecture of various neighbourhoods of the city of Zurich. Thus, the walks transform into a real hunt for shell companies, trust firms, domiciliation agencies and shadow finance offices and agents.
Participants are invited to document their investigations by any means possible (photograph, video, radio interception, wifi spoofing, etc.). At the end of each walk, a collective discussion offers a platform to participants to share their experiences and documents, in order to shape collectively an up to date image of finance that challenges the very notion of offshore.
The Offshore tour Operator is a small backpack containing a miniature computer and a GPS antenna. The GPS will guide you to the Offshore leaks and panama papers shell company physical addresses.
A few thing you can bring to make the tour friendly :
- A pair of headphones (mini-jack) to listen to the instructions, who are given in audio.
- A compass if you have one.
- A smartphone with signal app installed, if you have one.
We also propose you to document the journey, so please try to bring a notebook to note some of your observations. Optionally, any device to document the journey : a camera to take some pictures and notes, and/or a sound recorder for vocal notes, and/or a video camera, etc. Any smartphone, for those who have one, may act as a camera, an audio recorder and usually incorporates a compass.
Last but not least, please note that, because the workshop is outside, we encourage you to carefully choose clothes adapted to the weather. At the end of the tour, we will meet at AIA where we will compare notes and share our experiences.
Limited places available, please register: welcome@weareaia.art