INDIVIDUAL + STRANGER

Alex Van Es is a systems analyst form the town of Apeldoorn in The Netherlands, who has linked his doorbell refrigerator, toilet, alarm clock,  and cat little box to six cameras within his house. The project is then broadcasted live over the internet. The result is that 400 people a day know a lot of little things about the 25-year old programmer. For instance: At 3:26:37 p.m. on Saturday, someone rang his doorbell for 2.910156 seconds. Since 12 July, he's opened his refrigerator on 1,347 occasions, and yesterday he flushed his toilet 17 times.
(Article source: "Public Viewing of A Private Life". Jeroen Van Bergejick. 11. 16. 98. www.wired.com)


Daily life becomes an endless reflex between voyeurism and exhibitionism, however Van Es's project reminds us that the root of the word regard, meaning to look or gaze at comes from the Old French garder, that is, to guard or watch over. Through van Es's invitation to the public to observe the more intimate aspects of his domestic routines, it is possible to recognize that someone watching is not necessarily threatening. Rather, his position suggests that, in a world of isolation, having someone watching can be comforting. While it remains problematic to reconcile such an attitude with the negative connotations that are associated with Big Brother, the interactive gaze of the media has now come to represent a presence that is reassuring more so than intrusive. 


Obviously, Van Es isn't concerned about privacy. "Whenever there's a reason, I'll simply disconnect the webcams," he says.(Article source: "Public Viewing of A Private Life". Jeroen Van Bergejick. 11. 16. 98. www.wired.com)


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