I aim to create a commentary on the amount of passive observation in the world today, and engage with the ramifications of a world filled with technology and what that means for surveillance and the degree of privacy actually given. I also want my work to directly interact with the viewer, and get the intention across to them, through making them complicit in the point being made.

Observer//Observed, features a tall, hunched figure, in black robes, and a decorated gold mask; referencing Philip Jackson’s sculptures. There is expression, but only one eye is open, and the other filled over. Sat on its chest, is a fisheye mirror. The head is tilted down, so that when the viewer is looking in the mirror, they are also themselves being observed at the same time, hence the Title. The mirror makes the piece engage with not just the viewer, but also the wider space, presenting the viewer with a distorted view of their surroundings.

Listening Post is a sculptural and sound work. Consisting of a metal rack, and two smaller tables, forming a semi-circle. Across the surfaces are a jumble of cables and devices, interspersed with postcards. Three slogans are featured on them; ‘Your privacy is a Lie’, Never Forget we live in a Surveillance State’, and ‘You are under Constant Observation’. On the centre rack there is a bust reminiscent of the mask featured on Observer//Observed, and on the side-tables are two similar masks. There are four separate audio tracks alongside two radios. The audio tracks are edited conversations, as if being listened in on. The multiple audio tracks with the radio, aims to create the effect of an unintelligible whole, which, like Meireles’ Babel can only be differentiated by the viewer with time and concentration. The incomprehension audio can bring is useful for conveying confusion, and the complexity of having many sources of information available in a digital age, but the incomprehension creates an undesirable distance between the audience and the work.

In an increasingly digital world, Podcasts have become a common alternative to radio. This format can be repurposed, to produce work that will speak directly to the audience. If combined with headphones, this can produce a more intimate relationship between audience and artwork, as it is contained to one person at a time. Continuing with an audio centric format, but rather than using sound to affect a space, instead use it as a method of seclusion. The listener putting on headphones immediately goes a length to cutting them off and makes the experience more personal. Rather than distorted sound, using dialogue to allow the work to directly ‘talk’ to the listener.

Hidden Signals used a monologue and soundscape to play on expectations of the listener. Initially following a similar format to a podcast, the work aims to build trust with the listener, providing them with facts and information, whilst also building in sound effects to support this. The speaker builds trust with facts, but then uses those facts to build an entirely false narrative, eventually revealing the falsehood, and how easy it can be to mislead and influence people under the correct conditions.

Perspective followed a similar format, using direct monologue delivered to the listener. Here, the speaker is critiquing the way they audience engages with the piece, and the rest of the work in the exhibition. The piece is a side-table, with an MP3 player and headphones sat on top and a note saying, ‘play me’. The piece is staged in a manner that originally makes it appear amateurish. The audio then continues to critique the appearance, before changing the narrative to critique pre-judgement, and delving into a commentary on what makes art ‘good’, and how the amount of effort is judged, whether intentionally or not. The monologue, uses humour, but is also ultimately aimed to critique the inherent worth we put on artwork, and what makes art ‘good’.

Just Something to Think About is a collection of three main pieces of writing a small closing piece, collated onto a small zine. All are written in prose, directly addressing the reader. The first for are each individual pieces of writing, following similar themes but not directly linked. They are called ‘Observation’, ‘Interpretation’, and ‘Truth’. They each engage with the day-to-day life of the reader, with attempting to instil a faint paranoia, engaging with the way technology has reduced privacy, and created new methods of mass influence. As commented on in the closing statement on the last page, through reading the pieces, whether out loud or not, the reader has given the writing a voice, making them complicit in the arguments being made in the writing, whether they agree with the points made or not.

Starting with sculpture, my aim has been to have the work engage to audience directly, and invoke a level of participation, rather than simply viewing the work. This started with the inclusion of the mirror in Observer//Observed, but has been most effective as I have honed in on engaging a single audience member at a time, rather than groups. Through using audio as a format to address them directly, allowing my literal voice to be a part of the work, I am able to not just make a statement through my work, but also to be able to begin the convince the audience of my point, more directly addressing them and their lives.