The first artist I researched that is influencing the concepts behind my third project is Hasan Elahi.
Hasan Elahi is a professor at University of Maryland, where he is the director of Digital Cultures and Creativity in the Honors College. He has exhibited works in Centre Pompidou, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Tate Modern, and has appeared on the popular comedy central series, The Colbert Report. His works tackle simulated time, social implications of media and technology, borders, frontiers and transport systems.
Hasan Elahi was born in Bangladesh and raised in New York City and has U.S. citizenship. In June of 2002, Hasan was re-entrering the country through the Detroit airport when he was detained by the airport's Immigration and Naturalization Services. After waiting in a holding bay with other frightened detainees, Hasan was interrogated concerning his whereabouts on September 12, 2001, the day after the terrorist attack. They were also highly interested in a storage unit owned by Hasan in Florida, which was thought Hasan's cache of explosives.
An avid record keeper, Hasan pulled out his PDA and opened his calendar for September 12, and proceeded to describe where he was, what meetings he attended that day, etc. After cooperating Hasan was eventually released that day at the airport. However, a few weeks later, Hasan was again interrogated by an F.B.I. agent about his potential involvement with Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, etc. After he was told that he would have to check in periodically with the F.B.I. so they could keep him under close watch.
Hasan saw this as an opportunity to make a statement about the social implications of this type of surveillance. Hasan began recording all of his actions taking thousands of pictures, including the food he ate, places he walked, and even the bathrooms he has used. He has now taken the "pressure of surveillance" out of the hands of the F.B.I, and has begun to surveil himself. Now you can always find Hasan's G.P.S. location and his current whereabouts.
No comments:
Post a Comment