University project created by the students of the Multimedia Studio under the supervision of the tutors PANOPTICON. COME CLOSER has been selected for the coming edition of the ELIA Biennial Conference that will take place from 20 – 23 November 2024 in Milan, Italy.
Out of the 213 submissions received, the Steering Group and the Jury have selected a total of 79 proposals organized in various sessions and formats; 25 different countries will be represented at this event, just by the selected presenters.
Exhibition authors/students: Helena Jabłonowska (project leader), Karolina Bloch, Jakub Chrobot, Zuzanna Gocławska, Benedikt Pfisterer, Sefa Sagir, Veranika Strakh, Natalia Ślusarska, Julia Witkowska, Kuba Zakrzewski
Project supervisors: Anna Klimczak, Tomasz Miśkiewicz; assistant: Emilia Ishizaka; co-operation, consultants: Damian Ziółkowski, Bartosz Wyszyński
The main theme of these creative digital approaches that engage the audience was surveillance and the constant monitoring we experience via surveillance systems and applications. The project used broadcasts from unmonitored live-stream webcams that secretly watch people who are unaware that they’re being observed, and live coverage is streamed online. Visitors to the exhibition were able to choose one of four global locations they wanted to observe by standing on a specific spot on the floor. As an added bonus, the participants themselves were also monitored, and their images became part of the interactive installation. The project was inspired by Shoshana Zuboff’s book „The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” and the analysis of works by Krzysztof Wodiczko and other artists. During their research, the students focused in particular on exploring the relationship between covert surveillance and feelings of pleasure.
Exhibition by students of the Multimedia Studio at the Kyubu Gallery, Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology (PJAIT) in Warsaw, 2023
photos by: Kuba Zakrzewski, Zuzanna Gocławska