type of work : live event & exhibition [sculptural installation with video]
what is it : a site-specific privacy service for citizens.
where is it : city streets and civic spaces
commission requirements :contact pvi for more info

panopticon is a site-specific privacy service pvi have been conducting in cities densely populated with surveillance cameras throughout australia and asia since 2001. the work appropriates the use of umbrellas as a tactical privacy tool, allowing travellers the opportunity for a brief moment of privacy in a public space.

the panoticon series sees travellers shrouded in a cocoon of domestic umbrellas and navigated to a destination of their choice. rendered blind by the contraption they have to wear to ensure their identity is protected, participants are guided via audio from cb radios by the privacy team who endevour to reach the end destination at all costs.

journeys are often painstaikingly slow and methodical with activities that usually take 5 mins taking the team up to 40 minutes to complete as they navigate traffic, uneven road surfaces, public transport systems, security officials and any other unexpected obstacles. resulting live actions are documented via video and sound and then edited and installed as part of a sculptural installation.

“the lateral, even dysfunctional re-use of the ubiquitous umbrella in the panopticon series posits old technology against new, as well as the individual against the system. instead of protection from natural elements, the umbrella is utilised as a barrier against invasive technology. patently inadequate to the task, its very failure poetically highlights the extensive use of technologies of control within our public spaces, while simultaneously demonstrating both the vulnerability of the individual and their capacity for resistance.”
vivienne webb, curator, museum of contemporary art

with grateful thanks to the following sponsors & supporters:

this project is assisted by the commonwealth government thru the australia council, its arts funding & advisory board. the state of western australia has made an investment in this project through arts wa in association with the lotteries commission. this work was developed with this assistance of a pica r&d funding grant.