Blank Tape
Brew House Arts, Pittsburgh
January 18 - March 9, 2024
“Blank Tape, curated by Lena Hansen, is inspired by the ubiquity of surveillance technology in contemporary life. From social media to smart devices, surveillance technology is an inescapable part of our current reality. Even though surveillance can be a scary topic—implying dystopian and oppressive futures—Hansen argues that these dangers make it worth fully investigating how the technology impacts our lives. The artists in Blank Tape explore our complicated relationship to surveillance—and draw connection between surveillance and attitudes towards gender identity, national identity, international politics, and sex work. In doing so, Blank Tape seeks to show how surveillance technologies inform the way we think and behave, and to imagine how we can use and engage with surveillance more ethically.”
The exhibition featured artists working in video, animation, projection, photography, installation, and game art. Exhibiting artists include Ajunie Virk, Azzah Sultan, Caroline Yoo, Jamie McArthur, Jonathan Ellis, Lena Chen, Negin Mahzoun, Or Zubalsky, Shori Sims, Tooraj Khamenehzadeh.
View the exhibition guide and essay here.
Press
“On our watch: Art exhibit explores surveillance culture,” Bill O’Driscoll, WESA, 2024
