// new media class


Jerome Gautier — Equiveillance

Narrative Material — Winter 2014

Equiveillance is a state of equilibrium, or a desire to attain a state of equilibrium, between surveillance and sousveillance. Surveillance cameras are a inherent part of our modern citys. They generate an endless live stream of realtime images, which records the present, whether the recordings are important or not. The result is a constant image stream, which only becomes relevant and gains publicity if something extraordinary happens. CCTV Systems only work in one direction and have no communication purpose. This justifies a balance of power between a seemingly omniscient, inviolable observer and an observed object whitout a voice. But if we had an influence on the surveillance images we could shift the balance of power.

Is it possible to shift the balance of power inside a surveillance system not only in favor of the observed person, but to completely reverse it? Is it possible to intervene from ouside into a closed surveillance system?

In collaboration with Simon Weckert.