The methods and technical aspects of the installation are exposed as a means of understanding this system and in turn, public surveillance systems and their capabilities.
This installation playfully examines the dynamics of surveillance and compliance within a society increasingly analyzed by technology. As players follow commands generated by the system, they traverse the tension between agency and external control. As they perform each pose, it represents both a moment of creativity and simultaneously the negation of identity in a digitally mediated environment. The computer vision system echoes the omnipresence of public surveillance, capturing the physical movements as compliance or non-compliance.
The installation challenges participants to reflect on their own behaviors in the face of an ever-watchful eye. The work is a commentary on the human tendency to conform, often unthinkingly, to authoritative signals. This interactive experience invites an inquiry into the nature of freedom and the mechanisms of social control. It prompts participants to consider how technology can both liberate and constrain, revealing the complexities of human interaction within a landscape increasingly defined by the intertwining of artificial intelligence and surveillance.
Artist Biography
Matthew Biederman has been creating performances, installations, and exhibitions exploring perception, media saturation, and data systems since the mid-1990s. His work has been shown internationally at events including the Lyon Biennale, Montreal Biennale, Quebec Trienniale, Artissima, Moscow Biennale, FILE (São Paulo), Sonic Acts (Amsterdam), and ZeroOne (San Jose). In 2007 he co-founded the Arctic Perspective Initiative with Marko Peljhan, promoting open systems for the circumpolar region. Biederman has collaborated widely with musicians, exhibited across North America, Europe, South America, and Japan, and his works are held in public and private collections. He lives and works in Montreal.
Links
▶ Instagram: @matthewbiederman