Projects MA PHOTOGRAPHY
Gina Bolle – Instanz
Instanz is an interactive installation consisting of a steel cell with a five-channel video, three infrared cameras and two surveillance cameras. Within a dark and insulated space, viewers are confronted with live feeds, humiliating or disturbing found footage and sound.
Reflecting on Foucault’s “apparatus” theory, Instanz refers to a system that exerts power and control over society. It indicates how a camera can serve as a tool to harm its subjects. Similar to the panopticon, viewers have no control over whether they are being observed.
By linking live streams with found footage, the work exposes the possibility of exploitation in the realm of photography and demonstrates the inherent power imbalances in visual consumption through a deprived experience.
