Conspiracy Dwellings: Surveillance in Contemporary Art

Conspiracy Dwellings: Surveillance in Contemporary Art brings together the essays of theorists and art practitioners about artworks made in the midst of conflict or from the position of commentary and critique. With the focus on surveillance and its impact on urban space, architecture, and citizenship this collection of essays helps us to understand the times we live in through art practices that consider the practical and theoretical status of surveillance from a variety of positions. In topics that span the 70’s to the present day the authors feature work made by artists from South Africa, the Federal Republic of Germany, the former German Democratic Republic, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Many of the artists whose works are considered in this collection have addressed lived experience dealing with complex issues such as resistance, positionality, censorship, control and state power, civic liberties, human rights and torture. Whilst others have commented on surveillance cameras in the midst of our cities or digital software for radical civilian and military technologies that promises in the near future to revolutionise invasive surveillance techniques. In contrast to these new technological advances traditional methods of surveillance and control may at first glance seem to be outdated yet they still have currency in our societies and are dismissed at our peril. While surveillance is an accepted form of mass observation in the shopping mall or the railway stations, we may ask where do we draw the line and how far does surveillance have to go before it worries us, and at what point is the citizen considered a threat to the state?
Today, in post 9/11 times, political uncertainty and suspicion is once again heightened, notions of patriotism, freedom, and democratic rights are continually under discussion making this collection of particular relevance and interest to artists, cultural workers, scholars and art historians.

Pam Skelton is co-editor of this book. She wrote the chapter 'Konspirative Wohnungun/Conspiracy Dwellings: A Personal Report', pages 1-17, and co-authored the Editorial pages xiii-xx