ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Don't be alarmed by that strange youth acting out in front of the security cameras, he's just making an art house movie.
Artists in Britain are intercepting and recording security camera footage to make their own films in a reaction against the seemingly ever-present surveillance camera.
"Video sniffers" intercept wireless camera signals using basic electronic receivers, similar to a device used to pick up television signals. This, connected to a camcorder, allows the sniffer to view images from nearby closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
(Article continues below)
"In the UK it is interesting because we are the most surveyed society in the world," said Richard Wright, a digital artist and video sniffer from London.
Wright calls video sniffing "DIY media" and says it allows people to make use of the myriad security cameras on street corners, in car parks and in shops throughout Britain.
One widely quoted study estimates Britain has more than 4.2 million cameras, although police cast doubt on this figure.
"Not only are we (video sniffers) interested in this notion of controlling vision but we are interested in anonymity," Wright said.
"(Video sniffing is) like going on safari to look for wireless CCTV signals," he added. "Groups of kids typically walk down a street watching as a signal becomes stronger and then it becomes an art to judge from your surroundings what sort of buildings are being surveyed."
GRAB ATTENTION
Other artists are using British privacy laws, which allow people to request copies of films where they have been caught by public security cameras.
At the Peacock Gallery, an art gallery in the Scottish port town of Aberdeen, grainy video pictures show London-based artist Manu Luksch having lunch in a cafe, waiting for a bus and then carrying a heavy load of boxes.
Over four years Luksch sent about 100 letters requesting footage from CCTV operators, collecting 15 video clips and using them to make the film.
The Vienna-born Luksch said she was struck by the presence of CCTV when she moved to London 11 years ago.
"From that moment I was looking at ways of working with these recording devices," she said. "I got into the habit of wearing white clothes just in case I would walk somewhere with cameras -- I'd do something like run or handle big objects to grab the attention of the cameras."
Yahoo! MyWeb
