Banksy's CCTV Stunt

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-559547/Graffiti-artist-Banksy-pulls-audacious-stunt-date--despite-watched-CCTV.html

 The theme of exposure and CCTV surveillance features repeatedly throughout Banksy's works, depicting what is wrong with society today and is a very different take on surveillance.

What is Surveillance?

Surveillance is a close observation of a person or a group.

What is Voyeurism?

Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature.

The Truth Behind Technology

I have researched into news events to see the devastating effects that technology such as Facebook and mobile phones can have on a persons life. This is liked with surveillance and voyeurism in that in all of these cases the victims were stalked so hopefully shall give me some inspiration in terms of telling a story within my photographs.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256552/Facebook-stalker-Paul-Bristol-killed-Camille-Mathurasingh-seeing-new-man.html- this article is an example of the many tragic ends that come to the victim of a stalker

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/erbes-ex-husband-testifies-in-alleged-stalker-case_1179597- this article shows that most celebrities are stalked severely but due to they continual protection they rarely meet the same end as a civilian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/yorkslincs/series7/stalking.shtml- this article provides an insite into the ongoing problems of stalking and the huge impact it has on peoples lives.


I have also found that despite the fact that we are the most surveyed country in the world CCTV is in fact very unsuccessful when catching criminals as this article proves.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7384843.stm

Different photographers methods of observation

 Thomas Demand, Camera 2007

Thomas Demand’s Camera shows a still frame taken from a high-definition projection showing the motion of an airport surveillance camera. The film was made with a mobile phone camera at a small Brazilian airport. You can hear a strange airport sound as the camera moves from left to right. In the middle of the film, the camera briefly focuses directly on the viewer, showing the juxtaposition between filming and simultaneously being filmed.

Laurie Long, Compact 1998

Laurie Long’s The Dating Survelliance Project is a collection of videos and stills gathered by the artist on a series of dates. Wearing a hidden video camera and microphone she recorded each date. Some of her dates agreed to let her film beforehand and some didn’t know they were being filmed.

Laurie Long, Hairbrush 1998

Although Long’s subjects may have been aware that they were being filmed, they did not know where the camera was concealed. This helps to make it appear less self-conscious and shifts the focus away from the camera. Long draws parallels between dating and being on a spy mission, the experience of covertly filming becomes similar to behaving like a private detective.

Mens shoes with hidden camera in heel

The unseen photographer section of the exhibition shows both objects and images that relate to photographs taken without the knowledge or permission of those depicted. This image shows a camera hidden in the heel of a man’s shoe. During the nineteenth century cameras were hidden in things like shoes, books and items of clothing.

Aim

Surveillance can mean ‘to keep watch’ or ‘to watch over’. The UK is now the most surveyed country in the world, as surveillance cameras silently record our every move, whilst images are captured and relayed on camera phones, YouTube and reality TV.

So through this project I will consider the theme of surveillance, the ways in which photography can reveal the world and people unawares. I will look at technology that allows undercover or covert photography such as contemporary devices like mobile phones.

Experimenting with taking voyeuristic styled photographs

I liked the idea of seeing things through a window frame so decided to experiment with different effects and lighting and although I like the unusual effect it created it is not want I want to achieve.

This photograph was simply experimenting with having the observer in the photograph as well.

This one was to illustrate a different angle, watching someone from behind.

Here I experimented more with template idea which I liked but I think that I would prefer if a more abstract effect could be achieved.