Voyeurism | Surveillance
Academic Year SP/2022
Voyeurism | Surveillance focuses on reciprocal influences within social media between people’s voyeuristic desire of looking at other’s lives and ignorance of being surveilled. This voyeuristic desire was present from the past and developed from box seating in opera house to the form of social media. As 'spectating' became the major way of entertainment for people, their reliance on the virtual connections and the world in social media got bigger than their reliance on actual relationships and in physical world. To be connected in virtual platform, they will need to reveal more of themselves without knowing how much of their lives are being seen by the others too. The foucs on seeing the others leads people to be oblivious of how others can also see them. Their reflection on their use of social media will be possible when they finally get to the point where they realize that they were being obeserved by the others and this sequences of experiences will be explored in my chosen site, Ewha Campus Complex in Seoul, Korea. The linear pathway allows people to have the sequence of experiences and this experience make users to realize of their reliance on digital devices and their ignorance of being surveilled. There are three major spaces: grand foyer, corridor stage and box seatings, which their names are derived from old opera house in Paris. In the corridor stage, AR (Augmented Reality) is implemented in the design to choreograph the movement of the users and their movements are easily spectated from box seatings. Users in this space become, visitors, performers and lastly the spectators and as soon as they become in the position of spectators, they will realize that they were being seen by others while they were focusing on the digital world. This will allow them to reflecting back on their experience and also on their use of social media.
ECC (Ehwa Campus Complex)
The chosen site for the thesis project is one of the campus building in Ewha Womans University.
There are three aspects in AR : Grass growing and words and buildings appearing. These are included as part of AR to teach the visitor about the history and disappeared nature in the site. As the chosen site is built in the area, the value of other historic buildings of the school diminished and visitors visit the site for photo taking rather than learning. Thus, to bring back the idea of learning and experiencing the history of the building, these aspects are included as part of the AR experience. Therefore, people who gets to the box seating will have more privilege than the people in the Grand foyer, not only for that they are in the position of “seeing” but also for that they have more knowledge.
WELCOME SIGN
The welcoming sign indicates that the visitors are within the area of where they can use the AR system. Their experience with the system has begun.
GROWING GRASS
Inspired by how ECC building used to be the green area, growing grass works as the major wayfinding system, allowing visitors to pass through the promenade.
MESSAGES
Messages are one of the obstacles that can stop the visitors from walking and make them to read and to learn more about the history of the campus.
CONCRETE BLOCK
Inspired by how ECC building is the most recently built building in the campus, concrete block will appear to stop the visitors from walking.