Malaysia art exhibition on surveillance culture perfectly reflects the fear that Big Brother is watching you
Kuala Lumpur show includes works by international artists responding to universal concerns about the growing intrusion of surveillance in our lives, and the blurred lines between what is private and what is public
“Seen” is a group exhibition in Kuala Lumpur about surveillance and the imbalance of power, and it is a timely test of whether political art still works when the politics changes.
The exhibition at Wei-Ling Contemporary gallery was conceived last year when there was a lot of pent-up anger in Malaysia, and when most people didn’t expect to see a change in government. To the surprise of everyone, including gallery owner Lim Wei-ling, Malaysia would witness the peaceful, democratic ousting of the coalition that had been in power since independence just one week after the show opened, and the city’s arts community has been in a celebratory mood since.
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“The exhibition was [conceived] at the end of 2017. We didn’t even know when the election was going to take place. The idea came about because we are living in a society where a new anti-fake-news law has just come into effect, where everyone is being watched against our consent, and where the watchers are anonymous. It is true in Malaysia and around the world. So even though the whole political landscape has changed since May 9, the works here are still relevant,” says Lim shortly after the Malaysian general election.
It helps that the exhibition includes works by international artists responding to universal concerns about a surveillance culture and the blurring of boundaries between the private and the public.
The photo montage of dozens of surveillance cameras in Every CCTV Camera (2017), by James Bridle, causes unease in everyone who has lived in a major city. Power sits behind the blank looking lenses, as the British artist himself found out in 2014 when he was arrested in London for photographing the cameras.
Stranger Visions (2012-2013), by self-styled “biopolitical artist” Heather Dewey-Hagborg, comprises three-dimensional portraits of men and women warning against genetic surveillance.