Coco Fusco - Life under surveillance

New York -based performance artist and interdisciplinary scholar Coco Fusco will present a twelve hour performance in ARS 01 with live Internet broadcast that includes several possible levels of audience interactivity. The performance will take the form of a docudrama, and the stylistic result will be a cross between surveillance video and soap opera. Technical realisation is by Ricardo Dominguez. Coco Fusco answered a few questions about the performance.

How would you describe briefly the main theme of the performance?

Ricardo and I want to explore two basic areas - the normalisation of surveillance in contemporary society and net culture as well as the intersection of body art and Taylorism. We are trying to remind people that the current fascination with surveillance glamorised in the new media culture has its underside – the disciplining of subjugated bodies in the global economic order. The drama that will be broadcast is based on an actual event that happened in a maquiladora in Tijuana. A female worker was accused of unionising the plant and was punished by being locked in a room without food, water, bathroom access or telephone for twelve hours to terrorise her into signing a letter of resignation.

What is going to happen in the performance?

I will play the woman under surveillance who is locked in a room under guard. Ricardo will play the guard who represents both the face of repressive management as well as her only contact with the outside world. There will be three surveillance cameras recording me and the performance can be seen as a direct Internet broadcast. None of my bodily needs will be attended to, in other words, I will not be able to leave to use the bathroom, wash, eat or drink. None of my emotional or social needs will be met either – my calls to the guard will be unanswered and I will be unable to use a telephone to notify anyone of my situation.

Have you already thought how are you going to spend your time?

Yes, I won't have much to do because there will only be a table with a computer, chair and a trash can in the room. I will try to get the guard's attention, sometimes deal with him, try not to flip out, and stay awake.

Will you be alone all the time in the room?

At periodic intervals, the guard will enter the room to attempt to coerce me to do things against my will, such as confessing actions I did not do, or signing papers that frame me for having violated rules I did not violate.

Is your performance an expression of opinion against human rights violations or torture?

Yes. Many maquiladoras have been cited for violations of human rights in the workplace. Several political prisoners in the US have argued that 24 hour surveillance via cameras is a form of psychological torture.

How is interactivity going to be realised in the show?

People watching the Internet broadcast can comment on the actions, and discuss what is going on in the video with all the other viewers. On another level of interactivity, Ricardo's entries will sometimes be triggered by audience presence and activity on line during the performance. In other words, a certain critical mass of viewers would send a signal to the guard to interact with me or, for instance, to heed a request of mine for water.

Similarities between your performance and popular webcam sites or such television shows as "Survivor" can be seen. What do you think is the reason for the popularity of such media products?

We are trying to develop a critique of Survivor and people's obsession with it. Half the world thinks invading people's privacy on line is great and erotic, while the other half is trying to get cameras away from them, out of their lives, their neighbourhoods, schools and prison cells. I don't think most privileged hyper media-oriented people have any idea of the social and political implications of the normalisation of surveillance, of accepting the right of others to stalk you, to invade your space, to keep track of your habits, note your faults, etc.

Do you feel concerned about the increasing surveillance in public places or workplace control? I mean when you cannot be sure someone has you under surveillance but you assume someone is watching you.

Of course. In maquiladoras in the border zones of Mexico as well as the Caribbean, female workers have no privacy, no time to go to the bathroom, no opportunity to talk during work, few breaks, and little control over their work situation or chance of improving it. In most institutions in the US, you don't own your e-mail if it is on your employer's server, nor do you have the right to keep it private if your boss wants to read it. I find this scenario horrific.

Juha-Pekka Vanhatalo