Surveilled Self

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Front cover of Surveilled Self. Black paper cover with a red sleeve. A white circle with a person's silhouette is drawn. Back cover of Surveilled Self. Black paper cover with a red sleeve. Drawn on the red sleeve is a framed white eye. Entire cover of Surveilled Self. The buttonhole exposed spine binding is visible. Binding is black thread over paper cover. Fifth spread of Surveilled Self. The first panel is a close up of a crosswalk, next panel shows someone stepping forward. Sixth spread. A red camera follows a red silhouette of a person in a crosswalk. Seventh spread folded. Red surveillance cameras atop electric poles. The largest one has a cut-out showing a red silhouette. Seventh spread unfolded. Cameras still visible on poles, the crosswalk and person are seen in the bottom of the composition. Back cover sleeve. There's a red paper pocket reading Surveillance Notes. Back cover sleeve. A piece of paper with the framed eye is inside the red paper pocket. Back cover sleeve. The paper from the pocket is a colophon listing supplies in the format of surveillance notes.

Surveilled Self is a self-portrait of sorts. I used this wordless format to reflect on my concerns with surveillance culture and how pervasive it has become in modern life. As a person of color I’m already under scrutiny and the prevalence of cameras has only increased that. How many cameras do you interact with on the daily? How often is it involuntary?