ART/Amsterdam
“On Patrol”
Through March 20th

“On Patrol” examines the many different systems that police our society, from traditional investigatory techniques to the unofficial practice of gathering and classifying personal data, that have become a form of social control.

In “On Patrol,” exhibition artists, responding to societal trends, show how their work fits into the framework of a surveillance society.

Participating artists: Marc Bijl, Sophie Calle, Ergin Cavusoglu, Paul Chan, Claudia Cristovao, Harun Farocki, Robin van't Haar, Nicoline van Harskamp, Janice Kerbel, Jill Magid, Yucef Merhi, Julia Scher and socialfiction.org.

The artists invited for the exhibition “On Patrol” explore various aspects of (in)security: they play with the observations of other people, manipulate techniques of espionage, hack, break codes and appropriate methods of power. They reveal the fear of insecurity, as well as worries about an excess of security.

In “Evidence Locker” (2004) Jill Magid deploys the local police force and the 242 security cameras stationed in the center of Liverpool to allow herself to be observed. From the resulting video material, she creates a film in which we can follow her closely. She also chronicled her stay in Liverpool in an exhibition diary.

Nicoline van Harskamp's new project shows how passers-by change their reactions to gatherings of teens in temporary uniforms, who look more like guards than young rebels.

Ergin Cavusoglu's video installation, “Entanglement” (2003) makes everything and everyone suspect, evoking an oppressive feeling of potentially threatening danger, turning man into a frightened animal through the sound of invisible, hovering helicopters and roving searchlights.

”On Patrol” is a response on the ongoing debate about security measures and the new cultural offensive being waged by various governments.

Critical and artistic confrontations about policing and surveillance are deployed in order to make viewers ask themselves: what is acceptable in the name of security? When is our individual freedom so much at stake that a boundary has to be transgressed -- and whose interests are being served by capitalizing on or fuelling fear?

Find it: De Appel
Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10
Amersterdam, NL
Get info: 31-20-6255-651

Find out about art events in other cities, in the FEB/MAR 2005 issue of "Arte Six."