In streets of the Dutch city of Utrecht, cybernetic ravens and seagulls keep their ever-vigilant electronic eyes on citizens. Has Big Brother begun dabbling in fringe science? No, it’s just a mutant street art project by the artist duo Helden.
Here’s how Helden (a.k.a. Thomas voor ‘t Hekke and Bas van Oerle) describe their camerabirds:
‘panoptICONS’ addresses the fact that you are constantly being watched by surveillance cameras in city centres. The surveillance camera seems to have become a real pest that feeds on our privacy. To represent this, camera birds – city birds with cameras instead of heads – were placed throughout the city centre of Utrecht where they feed on our presence. In addition, a camera bird in captivity was displayed to show the feeding process and to make the everyday breach of our privacy more personal and tangible.
