panoptICONS

To protest the irritation of constant surveillance, Thomas voor ‘t Hekke and Bas van Oerle, working under the name “Helden,” conceived of a project called “panoptICONS,” which involves placing “camera birds” — half-bird, half-surveillance camera — throughout the city of Utrecht.

“”panoptICONS addresses the fact that we are constantly being watched by surveillance cameras in city centres. The surveillance camera seems to have become a real pest that feeds on our privacy. To represent this, camera birds – city birds with cameras instead of heads – were placed throughout the city centre of Utrecht where they feed on the presence of people. In addition, a camera bird in captivity was displayed to show the feeding process and to make the everyday breach of our privacy more personal and tangible.” | via