A near future speculative fiction children’s book, written and illustrated by the artist, on the topic of smart home devices and hacking the system in order to provoke debate around the normalisation of surveillance economy and data extractivism. An installation of the main character, El's, world was designed and built to create a fully immersive experience to accompany the book. What was once a library in a basement with no natural light became El's near future apartment bedroom. Characters from the book were subtly present throughout the space. Halexa, the all seeing smart home device, featured in the form of CCTV cameras which were placed throughout the exhibition space. The atmosphere of the room fluctuated between periods of comfort and complacency to instances of discomfort as the public navigated the space directly experiencing the sense of unease with being continuously watched, while also momentarily forgetting the fact. This sparked interesting debate around the subject of surveillance, smart tech and their increasing prevalence in the everyday lives of both children and adults alike. Perhaps adults are past the point of rescue when it comes to our complacency around surveillance technology but there is an abundance of potential hackers and critical thinkers in the next generation, with a natural curiosity and vivid imaginations. The revolution will not be CCTV’d!
I See You (2019)
Written & Illustrated By - Heather Griffin | Installation Design & Build By - Heather Griffin | Thank You - Evita Rigert/ Ada Reinthal / Patrick Mulvihill / Sjaron Minailo
Written & Illustrated By - Heather Griffin | Installation Design & Build By - Heather Griffin | Thank You - Evita Rigert/ Ada Reinthal / Patrick Mulvihill / Sjaron Minailo