Ania Greiner

Swarm Circuit
Interdisciplinary Arts, Graduate

Project Summary: Swarm Circuit is a multidisciplinary solo performance that meditates on the increasing invasions of privacy brought on by an infestation of hungry, emotionless and parasitical eyes: the cameras that surround us as we go about our daily lives in the city, and that have the potential to observe our every move. With this performance, an atmosphere is created in which the viewers feel uncomfortable and vulnerable, in which they get a visceral, first-hand experience of the effects of the surveillance. Inspired by the announcement earlier this year that Chicago will be increasing the quantity of surveillance cameras in the city and networking them together, Swarm Circuit uses the image of insect spies as a metaphor for this invasion of privacy. The main character is a woman wearing a furry brown insect mask, and a shiny trench coat. Inside the mask, hidden in the forehead and at the back of the head, are two miniature spy cameras with a live feed to two television monitors. The woman eventually attacks the bugs that are invading her private space, protecting her from the "ocular authority."