Eye in the Sky
Year of Creation:
2024
Media:
Projector, Computer, Motion-Tracking Camera, Custom Software
Dimensions:
Variable
Interaction Type:
Computer-Vision
Duration:
Ongoing / Participant-Activated
Description:
A projected eye hovers above participants, blinking and following their every move. Powered by a motion-tracking camera and custom software, the installation creates the sensation of being constantly watched by a presence larger than life. Though the mechanisms of surveillance are left in plain sight—a visible camera, a laptop running the program—the inner workings remain opaque. Viewers understand they are being tracked, but not how. The result is a charged space of awe and unease, mirroring the dynamics of contemporary surveillance systems: their visibility is obvious, their operations concealed. Eye In The Sky transforms the gallery into a site where technological vision enacts both intimacy and intimidation.
Core Question:
How does the awareness of being watched alter our experience of space and self?
Loop Analysis
Structure:
Surveillance Feedback Loop
Definition:
A system where bodily movement is detected and mirrored by an ever-present watcher, reinforcing awareness of being observed.
Leverage Point:
The participant’s heightened self-consciousness when under visible but incomprehensible observation.
Inputs / Outputs:
Body movement → motion tracking → projected eye movement → perception of being watched
Effect:
Awe, unease, and behavioral adjustment under the gaze of a system
Ethical Valence:
Critiques the opacity of surveillance technologies; risks normalizing the spectacle of being watched
Design Note:
By leaving the camera and computer in plain view, the piece underscores that visibility does not equal transparency—the system remains unreadable despite its presence.
