The exhibition of photography, video and installation 'Virtual control - security and the urban imagination' by Max Colson, organized by UCL Urban Laboratoryand The Leverhulme Trust, takes place at RIBA this summer.
"The exhibition explores the hidden nature of security and control within contemporary urban space."
Playfully walking between urban facts and fictions, this exhibition by artist/photographer Max Colson presents a series of investigations on controlled urban areas.
The focus is privatised public space – urban environments which are nominally public, but owned and managed by commercial entities. The images on display explore how carefully camouflaged surveillance technology is used to monitor these areas, and, potentially, to manipulate behaviour. Other parts of the exhibition look at how these spaces are marketed and present an idealized version of urban environments.
Whether documenting the networks of sensors designed to 'track' suspect individuals or exploring how plants are used to disguise security architecture, this exhibition suggests how paranoia intrudes upon the urban imagination.
CREDITS.-
Dates.- from July 9th to August 25th.
Venue.- The Practice Space, RIBA. 66 Portland Place, London.
Curator.- Sunil Shah.
