Panopticon (neural architecture no.4)
2004
Hand sewn plastic bathmats, incandescent light, sensors, spy cameras, pocket televisions, magnifying lenses, video, CCTV

Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA

The Panopticon (Neural Architecture no. 4) at Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College of Art and Design, was a cell-like space woven of 260 light cells, in which the viewer was both observer and observed. An array of motion sensors caused waves of cells to illuminate as viewers moved around and into the installation. The core of the Panopticon was a crystal chamber lined with 23 palm sized television monitors. Viewers were captured by tiny embedded spy cameras in the network, and other monitors screened CCTV feeds from campus security cameras. Neural Architecture no. 4 developed a memory by absorbing digital video as its newest “sense”- in 2004, the price of DVD players went down to $50 at Target and (the now defunct) Circuit City, so the installation was able to absorb this consumer technology to develop video “memories.”