Project

The Traveller

June 2, 2014

Project by Jens Sundheim and Bernhard Reuss.

Contributors

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 01

Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive #10, New York City, USA, 2002. Courtesy of the authors.

For more than 13 years I have been tracing the spheres of public webcams: cameras installed in public or private spaces that automatically record images and spread them via the Internet.

I research where they are located, travel there, and get myself photographed. I was in New York and Moscow, in Las Vegas, London, and Novosibirsk. I went to more than 600 webcams in 17 countries. So far.

In New York, I was taken into police custody after standing around in front of a traffic webcam, later to be interrogated by the FBI.

Once I arrive at a webcam location, I place myself in front of the camera. As The Traveller, I stare back into the camera. Same clothes, same pose, every time. A bright shirt and a shoulder bag. You can recognize me in every image. You can watch me.

I contact a photographer to take my picture with a screenshot to preserve the transmitted data.

A lot of questions arise. Who sets up these automated cameras, and why? What do they show? Are people aware of them? Who needs these images? Who looks at them? Does the presence of a camera alter a site? What constitutes a photographic image in terms of authorship or quality?

The Traveller project examines borders of private and public grounds, global spread of imagery between irrelevance, information and surveillance, and the aesthetics involved.

Among many other places, The Traveller encountered the legendary coffee machine the world’s first webcam was pointed at, the European Space Agency (ESA) main control room, a huge cactus observed by four cameras, numerous street corners and backyards, and the inside of a New York police station—arrested for strange behavior.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 02

Centre Equestre Les Arnelles, Saintes Maries de la Mer, France, 2012. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 03

Boardwalk, Belmar NJ, USA, 2002. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 04

Front Door, Dortmund, Germany, 2007. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 05

Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland, 2004. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 06

Frenckell Square, Tampere, Finland, 2005. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 07

European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany, 2006. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 08

Garden Door, Eggersdorf, Germany, 2006. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 09

Haus des Meeres, Vienna, Austria, 2012. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 10

Vaduz, Liechtenstein, 2003. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 11

Golfpark, Otelfingen, Switzerland, 2003. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 12

The Quay, Poole, England, 2004. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 13

Aubagne, France, 2003. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 14

Brückenkopfgebäude Ost, Linz, Austria, 2009. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 15

Bundesstrasse 1, Bochum, Germany, 2004. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 16

Black Bear, Hannover, Germany, 2011. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 17

Zeughaus, Berlin, Germany, 2003. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 18

Weil am Rhein, Germany, 2004. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 19

Altstadt, Meersburg, Germany, 2011. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 20

Abbey Road, London, England, 2007. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 21

Ul. Człuchowska, Poznań, Poland, 2006. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 22

Waiting for Morrissey, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2006. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 23

Stadsgårdsleden, Stockholm, Sweden, 2008. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 24

Roof Parking Deck, Werne, Germany, 2004. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 25

Ronda Litoral, Barcelona, Spain, 2013. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 26

Reichenau Island, Germany, 2010. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 27

RAI Congrescentrum Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2014. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 28

Chemistry and physics faculty, TU Dortmund University, Germany, 2013. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 29

Harbour, Juist Island, Germany, 2007. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 30

Norddeich Mole, Norden, Germany, 2014. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 31

Lenin Square, Novosibirsk, Russia, 2013. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 32

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, 2012. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 33

Main Street, Concord NH, USA, 2002. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 34

Market Square, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2011. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 35

Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, USA, 2002. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 36

Matteusskolan, Stockholm, Sweden, 2008. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 37

Glorieta de Quevedo, Madrid, Spain, 2007. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 38

Christ's Resurrection Church, Kaunas, Lithuania, 2010. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 39

Düsseldorf Airport, Germany, 2002. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 40

Friedrich Ebert Strasse, Bottrop, Germany, 2013. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 41

Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany, 2005. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 42

Gooch's Beach, Kennebunk ME, USA, 2002. Courtesy of the authors.

Mas issue surveillance the traveller 43

Sechseläutenplatz, Zurich, Switzerland, 2003. Courtesy of the authors.

Comments