How much of the information in our day to day lives is chiefly visual? It only takes a moment of trying to walk around with your eyes closed to figure out that the answer is “a lot.” But consider for a moment the human-being’s range of vision: at best, it is only roughly 180º, and we are only able to see about 2º of the visual field clearly at any given time. So much of what goes on in the world around us goes unnoticed, which is what NYU photography professor Wafaa Bilal has decided to comment on with his shocking new project.
For a piece commissioned by the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art last month, Bilal recently visited a NY piercing studio to have a camera surgically implanted into the back of his skull.
Yeah, you may want to take a second to read that again.
Called “The 3rd I,” the project will involve the thumb-sized camera (which is mounted on a titanium plate inserted into the back of Bilal’s head) taking a photographs of Bilal’s rear-view each minute of everyday activities for one year. The images will then be transmitted to the museum, located in Qatar, for the building’s December 30 opening.
Weird? Of course … but I’ve got to admire any artist wiling to cut open his own cranium to make a point. In the artist’s own words, “This will expose the unspoken conditions we face… a project like this is meant to establish a dialogue about surveillance. I wanted to lose that subjectivity [of knowingly taking photographs]. At the same time I wanted to capture everyday mundane images.”
“The 3rd I” is not Bilal’s first venture into the realm of strange and controversial art.
A 2007 project called “Domestic Tension,” an exhibit that prompted The Chicago Tribune to name Bilal artist of the year, allowed virtual exhibit patrons to engage in a live webchat with Bilal for a period of 24 hours, during which they would have the option to remotely trigger an in-gallery paintball gun to shoot him as they spoke.
Bilal’s work is definitely eye-catching, but the underlying exploration of how privacy, invasion, and technology interact in modern life is what makes his art truly worth checking out.
Take a look at his website HERE.
Wow I think this is such a creative idea, especially since we do miss a lot when we have our heads turned. You always hear the phrase “I have eyes in the back of my head” but now this can actually happen! Today technology allows us to do the impossible!
I looked at some of the pictures and there is not much that was interesting that was going on behind him. I think this is one of those examples where the idea is more interesting than the execution. This artist has some intriguing ideas, which make you think, so that is valuable. He also readily includes the shock factor involved in using his body as a canvas (he has another “piece” which involves him getting multiple tattoos.) I’m not always convinced of the value of the “ewe” factor vs. the “awe” factor.