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SOUSVEILLANCE SELFIES (2014 - )
Portraiture has seen an evolution since the inception of photography. Once reserved for a pair of people, at the very least, to work together to create a single piece, portraiture no longer requires multiple direct parties. Self-portraits, or selfies, have seen a rise with the younger generations. The inspirational muse has now also become the brilliant artist; We have complete and total control in our outward image. The power dynamic in portraiture has switched and forever changed.
So how does self-portraiture and sousveillance even relate? Power dynamics. Surveillance is the observation of the privileged (i.e. "authority watching" or the veillance that has the capacity to prohibit others), whereas sousveillance is the observation of the plurality (i.e. "crowd watching" or the veillance done by non authorities against authority). Surveillance has an innate power dynamic attached to it by default; You are watched by a far away observer that one cannot directly observe. Sousveillance is a switch in this power dynamic; You become the one with watchful vigilance from underneath.
Sousveillance Selfies capture self-portraits through the security monitors found at various establishments. By utilizing the equipment being put forth by these establishments and turning it around for my personal benefit, I intend to take back some of the innate institutional power if only for fractions of a second. Constant intrusions on personal space by an establishment does not seem to have many immediate benefits to the self. Yet the simple action of taking a quick selfie in return for the intrusion documents a switch in the power dynamics between the institution and the self.
The goal of Sousveillance Selfies is to document my activity of switching the power dynamic on the institution in a performative and contemporary manner.