Introduction:  Actors  sign release forms to allow their image to be used
onscreen. This project ( the latest in a series of work I have undertaken on
this subject) aims to highlight the lack of power we have in public spaces
over how we are filmed and how the images produced are used. Working with
members of the public I hope to subvert this relationship and allow them a
more direct input in this representation.

Aside from  the surveillance element I want to investigate and question
peoples ideas about reality tv and the intrusion of the media into everyday
life through comedy shows which use the public as unwitting foils for the
whackiness of its presenters. Are people being given a choice over how they
are being represented?  In this project people will have a chance to express
themselves on camera with the security of foreknowledge.

Objective:I intend to spend a day at Canary Wharf- possibly the largest post
industrial complex in the country- drawing attention to the network of
surveillance cameras which surrounds this highly protected area. I plan to
give members of the public the right to sign Release forms for the use of
their image by the Canary Wharf security team, and by liaising with this
team I hope to open up a dialogue about this surveillance.
In this way I hope to encourage people to react to these candid cameras,
subverting their normal use as supposedly neutral recording devices and
opening up the possibility of using them as recording devices for
performative "actions".
 Working with a web broadcaster I hope to link  the images from these cctv
cameras to  the web for broadcast so that office workers and people who live
in the area can watch these actions as they take place.
I would need to work closely with the security team at Canary Wharf in order
to allay any fears they might have about the project compromising their
work. As the project is also a very public one I would need to work  with
MAP to make sure the presentation is both sensitive to and doesn't further
abuse the "performance rights" of  the potential audience.
 I have worked previously with a location manager who has worked in film
production who can advise on aspects of the work relating to film such as
legal contracts for members of the public ( the Release forms) and
contacting the authorities at canary Wharf to obtain permission to broadcast
from there.
 Working with  her and MAP I would hope to find a way to communicate with
the authorities at Canary Wharf and decide the best approach so that members
of the public are encouraged to take part in the project and do not feel
exploited
 
 

Background: As a video maker and performance artist who plays with gender  I
have worked on many projects which investigate the relationship between
audience and performer. Most recently I invited members of the public at an
arts festival to take part in the filming of a movie as extras (  US arts
festival, Auchencairn, Aug 2001). Previously I set up video booths in clubs
and art galleries ( Transmission, Glasgow, July 1996)where I gave people the
opportunity to ask me anything. I was also involved in the public access
television station OTV ( Feb,1998) for which I was asked to do a half hour
performance and despite being  threatened by a  passing drunk on the opening
night was asked by locals to work  on a variety of "shows" which they
requested me to host!

Timescale: I imagine this project would take from 6-8 weeks in total. Work
could begin as early as June if necessary.

Graham Bell
2002