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My fascination with live cameras on the
Internet – webcams – began 15 years ago.
During this time I’ve seen a nascent
technology evolve from it’s grainy origins
to a ubiquitous phenomenon with
high-resolution imagery. I’ve used webcams
in theater, online performances and
photographic series. In 2003 I started to
create monumental composite images, drawing
upon my ongoing collections of webcam
stills.
My work method involves appropriating public
webcams that are typically set up to monitor
construction sites or to show tourist
attractions. Many miles away from the actual
location yet connected via the Internet, I
direct these robotic cameras to scan the field
of view bit by bit. Over the course of several
months or even years, I capture thousands of
images, and meticulously stitch them together
into a panorama of great complexity and
detail.
This process of assembly uses a visual
grammar borrowed from cinema, such as
repetition, montage and manipulation of
time. The resulting composition becomes a
dynamic map of a location’s ecosystem, its
socio-economic state and industrial
processes. It reveals the passage of time
and develops its own narrative logic,
offering a fictive yet hyper-realistic
portrait of a place. Changing seasons, light
and shadows, diurnal rhythms, all are
compressed into one composite scene.
The final product is a seamless digital
Lightjet print. Idiosyncracies inherent in the
specific camera – viewing restrictions or even
discontinuation of service – dictate the
pictures’ often eccentric shapes. |