{"id":1457,"date":"2017-05-17T18:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T16:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/?p=1457"},"modified":"2019-07-31T20:40:24","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T18:40:24","slug":"surveillance-chess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/surveillance-chess\/","title":{"rendered":"Surveillance Chess"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\"  style='background-color: #ffffff;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;'><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row \"><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_1_1 fusion-builder-column-0 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last fusion-column-no-min-height 1_1\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;'><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\"><style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-six\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:31px;\"><h6 class=\"title-heading-left\" style=\"margin:0;\"><strong>Swiss media activists \u201cBitnik\u201d use a jamming transmitter to hijack security cameras in the London Underground and invite the security personnel to a game chess on their screens. This form of guerrilla artivism skilfully reverses the imbalance of power between those being observed and those doing the observing.<\/strong><!--more--><\/h6><div class=\"title-sep-container\"><div class=\"title-sep sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"border-color:#e0dede;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_2_3 fusion-builder-column-1 fusion-two-third fusion-column-first 2_3\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;width:65.3333%; margin-right: 4%;'><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-vimeo videowindow\" style=\"max-width:800px;max-height:450px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/46236909?autoplay=0&amp;rel=0&autopause=0\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" allowfullscreen title=\"vimeo46236909\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep sep-none\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text\"><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The video project <em>Surveillance Chess (2012) &#8211; Hijacking CCTV Cameras in London <\/em>documents an attempt at artistic intervention into the urban surveillance system as a form of &#8216;artivism&#8217;, i.e. art activism. This intervention highlights the underlying asymmetry of power defining the current surveillance system and briefly dissolves this hierarchy between the surveilling and the surveilled. The video was produced shortly before the Olympic Games in London by Bitnik media group, a collective mainly concerned with criticism of digital media. Besides being hosted on <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/46236909\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vimeo<\/a>, the video is accessible through the <a href=\"https:\/\/wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.bitnik.org\/s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists&#8217; own website<\/a> as well as a specially designed <a href=\"http:\/\/chess.bitnik.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">homepage<\/a> for the project.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Surveillance Chess begins with a text overlay describing the clip&#8217;s setting: London, 2012. Throughout the following seven-minute video, the individual sequences do not form a coherent narrative chain of action, but rather a series of repeated actions distinguished by abrupt jumps in time and space. The following pattern is repeated several times across varying locations:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A woman, apparently a member of the media group Bitnik, walks into view at a public, often crowded space, a yellow suitcase in hand. She then sets the suitcase down, making sure to do so well within view of the camera, and presses a switch. This is an act of manipulation, of hijacking: Bitnik intercept the camera&#8217;s signal, assuming control over the live feed and replacing the real-time footage on the monitors in the control room with the image of a chessboard \u2013 coupled with a challenge: \u201eI&#8217;ve hijacked your surveillance camera! I&#8217;m the one with the yellow suitcase. How about a game of chess? You are white. I am black. Call me or text to make your move! This is my phone number: 075 8246 0851&#8243;. Meanwhile, the chequerboard pattern and the regular camera feed alternate in rapid succession, forming a chain of surveillance and counter-surveillance images.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an attempt to replicate the visual style of genuine surveillance footage, the entire video&#8217;s aesthetics is dominated by a grayscale colour palette and low saturation, while white noise and visual glitches enhance the impression of authenticity throughout the entire video.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-image-carousel fusion-image-carousel-auto\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel\" data-autoplay=\"no\" data-columns=\"3\" data-itemmargin=\"13\" data-itemwidth=\"180\" data-touchscroll=\"no\" data-imagesize=\"auto\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-positioner\"><ul class=\"fusion-carousel-holder\"><li class=\"fusion-carousel-item\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-item-wrapper\"><div class=\"fusion-image-wrapper hover-type-none\"><img width=\"423\" height=\"317\" src=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-1-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-1-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-1.jpg 423w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 2200px) 100vw, (min-width: 784px) 391px, (min-width: 712px) 587px, (min-width: 640px) 712px, \" \/><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"fusion-carousel-item\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-item-wrapper\"><div class=\"fusion-image-wrapper hover-type-none\"><img width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-2-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-2-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-2-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-2.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 2200px) 100vw, (min-width: 784px) 391px, (min-width: 712px) 587px, (min-width: 640px) 712px, \" \/><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"fusion-carousel-item\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-item-wrapper\"><div class=\"fusion-image-wrapper hover-type-none\"><img width=\"433\" height=\"317\" src=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-3.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-3-200x146.jpg 200w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-3-400x293.jpg 400w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/surveillance-chess-3.jpg 433w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 2200px) 100vw, (min-width: 784px) 391px, (min-width: 712px) 587px, (min-width: 640px) 712px, \" \/><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"fusion-carousel-nav\"><span class=\"fusion-nav-prev\"><\/span><span class=\"fusion-nav-next\"><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text\"><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the clip is filmed from an elevated camera perspective, the events are shown from a superior position, thereby visualising the unequal \u201ebalance of power between a seemingly omniscient, all-seeing and untouchable observer and an uninformed observed object lacking a voice of its own&#8221;<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the acoustic level, too, the video indicates authenticity, capturing the background noise of the public spaces.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-image-carousel fusion-image-carousel-auto\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel\" data-autoplay=\"no\" data-columns=\"3\" data-itemmargin=\"13\" data-itemwidth=\"180\" data-touchscroll=\"no\" data-imagesize=\"auto\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-positioner\"><ul class=\"fusion-carousel-holder\"><li class=\"fusion-carousel-item\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-item-wrapper\"><div class=\"fusion-image-wrapper hover-type-none\"><img width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-11.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-11-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-11-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-11-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-11.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 2200px) 100vw, (min-width: 712px) 594px, (min-width: 640px) 712px, \" \/><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"fusion-carousel-item\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-item-wrapper\"><div class=\"fusion-image-wrapper hover-type-none\"><img width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-12.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-12-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-12-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-12-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-12.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 2200px) 100vw, (min-width: 712px) 594px, (min-width: 640px) 712px, \" \/><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"fusion-carousel-nav\"><span class=\"fusion-nav-prev\"><\/span><span class=\"fusion-nav-next\"><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text\"><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The text slides (\u201cI&#8217;ve hijacked your surveillance camera\u201d) are also read aloud by a computer-generated female voice, highlighting the invitation to a game of chess and making this form of unusual communication more personal. The operator behind the screen in the control room is not only visually, but also audibly confronted with the fact that someone has hijacked their security cameras, momentarily wrestling control away from them, and that she has in turn extended an invitation from a position of brief superiority. The operator, in short, experiences a brief, but total loss of control.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Deliberate stylistic repetition defines the entire video \u2013 not only the editing tricks, but also the individual images and sounds bear striking similarity to one another. This, on the one hand, draws attention to the omnipresence of surveillance cameras in the public sphere, while on the other hand emphasising the urgency of the invitation, perhaps demand, to play chess \u2013 the thematic groundwork of the video. In writing, this is signalled by continuous capitalisation (\u201ccapslock\u201d) as well as the transition from interrogative to imperative sentences, thereby assuming a more dominant, decisive tone (&#8220;How about a game of chess?&#8221; vs. &#8220;Play chess with me.&#8221;, &#8220;Come on!&#8221;). This deliberate use of these kinds of stylistic devices makes the viewers themselves more aware that they are surrounded by surveillance cameras wherever they go, and could perhaps eventually plant the first seed of anger and frustration at the perceived imbalance of power.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another stylistically important strategy lies in the ever so slightly decreasing distance between the camera and the protagonist. At first, a long shot is used, with the protagonist sitting relatively far from the CCTV camera. Throughout the course of the video, the woman then gradually, step-by-step moves closer to the cameras throughout London \u2013 until, at the very end of the video, she can be seen right in front of the last camera, filling large parts of the screen, and even stares right trough the lens at the operator. It is in this precise moment that the protagonist becomes clearly identifiable as a member of Bitnik and succeeds in making the communication more personal and intimate, more face-to-face. By looking straight at the camera, she also aggressively reverses the roles of the observer and the observed, showing awareness of her own on-camera visibility at all times and challenging this asymmetry of power.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-image-carousel fusion-image-carousel-auto\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel\" data-autoplay=\"no\" data-columns=\"3\" data-itemmargin=\"13\" data-itemwidth=\"180\" data-touchscroll=\"no\" data-imagesize=\"auto\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-positioner\"><ul class=\"fusion-carousel-holder\"><li class=\"fusion-carousel-item\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-item-wrapper\"><div class=\"fusion-image-wrapper hover-type-none\"><img width=\"759\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-21.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-21-200x107.png 200w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-21-400x214.png 400w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-21-600x321.png 600w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-21.png 759w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 2200px) 100vw, (min-width: 712px) 594px, (min-width: 640px) 712px, \" \/><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"fusion-carousel-item\"><div class=\"fusion-carousel-item-wrapper\"><div class=\"fusion-image-wrapper hover-type-none\"><img width=\"759\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-22.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-22-200x107.png 200w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-22-400x214.png 400w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-22-600x321.png 600w, https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/surveillance-chess-22.png 759w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 2200px) 100vw, (min-width: 712px) 594px, (min-width: 640px) 712px, \" \/><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"fusion-carousel-nav\"><span class=\"fusion-nav-prev\"><\/span><span class=\"fusion-nav-next\"><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text\"><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Along these lines, the chess game can be seen as a metaphor for the equality of both participants. In chess, both parties must follow the same set of rules, resulting in a balance of power between players one and two who can meet on equal grounds. Chess as a symbol, therefore, denotes the polar opposite of surveillance with its hierarchical power imbalance: it modifies the panoptic system of one-sided visibility, rendering it obsolete. By hacking and intercepting camera signals, surveillance becomes \u201esousveillance\u201c<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Surveillance Chess, Bitnik realise a project whose central concept is also reflected in several of their other works: hijacking and reversing the institutionalised system of surveillance by means of art. The hijacking of the London CCTV network unfolds in two steps: First, the Swiss artist collective gains access to security camera footage (which is usually not available to the public) and makes it accessible to everyone by posting it online \u2013 the dynamic of power between surveilled citizens and surveilling parties is thus fundamentally transformed (Bitnik Media Group 2011: 20). The latter are thus denied access to their cameras&#8217; footage, whereas the people \u2013 those subjected to surveillance \u2013 have unrestricted access.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The surveillance system is only actually re-purposed and dismantled, however, by the hacking of cameras. The artivists assume control, and thus, in a second step, the imbalance of power is dissolved by replacing real-time transmissions with an invitation to a game of chess. This unusual change of perspective elevates the artists \u2013 and with them, their audience \u2013 to a higher, now equal level of communication with the camera operators. The supervisors, meanwhile, experience total loss of control. The established power structures between those being observed and those observing is not just criticised, but also reversed. The game of chess can in this context be seen as an allegory of sousveillance \u2013 the artivists expose the imbalanced hierarchy of power inherent to the surveillance state. By demanding mutual visibility, they turn a one-way observational power imbalance into a two-way communication channel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Sina L\u00e4pple<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_1_3 fusion-builder-column-2 fusion-one-third fusion-column-last 1_3\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;width:30.6666%'><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\"><div class=\"fusion-content-boxes content-boxes columns row fusion-columns-1 fusion-columns-total-2 fusion-content-boxes-1 content-boxes-icon-on-side content-left\" data-animationOffset=\"100%\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:60px;\"><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-content-boxes-1 .heading .content-box-heading {color:#7a848c;}\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover .heading .content-box-heading,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover .heading .heading-link .content-box-heading,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover .heading .content-box-heading,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover .heading .heading-link .content-box-heading,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover.link-area-box .fusion-read-more,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover.link-area-box .fusion-read-more::after,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover.link-area-box .fusion-read-more::before,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .fusion-read-more:hover:after,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .fusion-read-more:hover:before,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .fusion-read-more:hover,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover.link-area-box .fusion-read-more,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover.link-area-box .fusion-read-more::after,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover.link-area-box .fusion-read-more::before,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover .icon .circle-no,\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .heading .heading-link:hover .content-box-heading {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcolor: #9e9e9e;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover .icon .circle-no {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcolor: #9e9e9e !important;\n\t\t\t\t\t}.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box.link-area-box-hover .fusion-content-box-button {background: #d6d6d6;color: #787878;background-image: -webkit-gradient( linear, left bottom, left top, from( #e8e8e8 ), to( #d6d6d6 ) );background-image: linear-gradient( to top, #e8e8e8, #d6d6d6 )}.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box.link-area-box-hover .fusion-content-box-button .fusion-button-text {color: #787878;}\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover .heading .icon > span {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tbackground-color: #9e9e9e !important;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover .heading .icon > span {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tborder-color: #9e9e9e !important;\n\t\t\t\t\t}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-column content-box-column content-box-column content-box-column-1 col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 fusion-content-box-hover content-box-column-last-in-row\"><div class=\"col content-box-wrapper content-wrapper link-area-link-icon icon-hover-animation-fade\" style=\"background-color:transparent;\" data-animationOffset=\"100%\"><div class=\"heading heading-with-icon icon-left\"><div class=\"icon\"><i style=\"border-color:#333333;border-width:1px;background-color:#333333;box-sizing:content-box;height:42px;width:42px;line-height:42px;border-radius:50%;color:#ffffff;font-size:21px;\" class=\"fontawesome-icon fa fa-info circle-yes\"><\/i><\/div><h2 class=\"content-box-heading\" style=\"font-size:18px;line-height:23px;padding-left:64px;\">Meta<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"content-container\" style=\"padding-left:64px;color:#747474;\">Last Updated: 16.03.2017<\/p>\n<p>Produced in: UK<\/p>\n<p>Distributed through: Vimeo, Webpage der !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Projekt-Webpage<\/p>\n<p>URL: <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/46236909\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vimeo<\/a> \/ <a href=\"http:\/\/chess.bitnik.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bitnik<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Date of Upload: 23.07.2012<\/p>\n<p>Producers: !Mediengruppe Bitnik<\/p>\n<p>Length: 7:00<\/p>\n<p>Clicks\/Comm.\/Likes: (Vimeo) 25.900\/6\/123<\/p>\n<p>Description on Vimeo: <em>London. On the brink of the Olympic Games. A tube station in one of the most surveilled public spaces in the world. !Mediengruppe Bitnik intercepts the signal of a surveillance camera: Business people making their way to the Underground, a man in a suit looking for the right exit. From the left, a woman with a yellow suitcase walks into the frame of the surveillance camera. She opens her suitcase and activates a switch. This is the moment when Bitnik takes over. The CCTV operator experiences total loss of control. The surveillance image drops out, a chess board appears on the surveillance monitor and a voice from the loudspeakers says: \u00abI control your CCTV camera now. I am the one with the yellow suitcase.\u00bb The image jumps back to the woman with the yellow suitcase. Then the image switches to the chess board.\u00abHow about a game of chess?\u00bb, the voice asks. \u00abYou are white. I am black. Call me or text me to make your move. This is my number: 07582460851.\u00bb<\/em><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-column content-box-column content-box-column content-box-column-2 col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 fusion-content-box-hover content-box-column-last content-box-column-last-in-row\"><div class=\"col content-box-wrapper content-wrapper link-area-link-icon icon-hover-animation-fade\" style=\"background-color:transparent;\" data-animationOffset=\"100%\"><div class=\"heading heading-with-icon icon-left\"><div class=\"icon\"><i style=\"border-color:#333333;border-width:1px;background-color:#333333;box-sizing:content-box;height:42px;width:42px;line-height:42px;border-radius:50%;color:#ffffff;font-size:21px;\" class=\"fontawesome-icon fa fa-book circle-yes\"><\/i><\/div><h2 class=\"content-box-heading\" style=\"font-size:18px;line-height:23px;padding-left:64px;\">Further Reading<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"content-container\" style=\"padding-left:64px;color:#747474;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1-2]<\/a> !Mediengruppe Bitnik (2011). CCTV: \u00dcberwachung im geschlossenen Kreislauf. Die st\u00e4dtische \u00dcberwachung als Ort k\u00fcnstlerischer Feldforschung. In: Museum Folkwang (Hrsg.): <em>Hacking the city: Interventionen in urbanen und kommunikativen R\u00e4umen<\/em>. G\u00f6ttingen: Edition Folkwang\/Steidl, S. 14\u201326.<\/div><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .heading-link:hover .icon i.circle-yes,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box:hover .heading-link .icon i.circle-yes,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-link-icon-hover .heading .icon i.circle-yes,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t.fusion-content-boxes-1 .fusion-content-box-hover .link-area-box-hover .heading .icon i.circle-yes {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbackground-color: #9e9e9e !important;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tborder-color: #9e9e9e !important;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Swiss media activists \u201cBitnik\u201d use a jamming transmitter to hijack security cameras in the London Underground and invite the security personnel to a game chess on their screens. This form of guerrilla artivism skilfully reverses the imbalance of power between those being observed and those doing the observing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[73,74,68,65],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1457"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2169,"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457\/revisions\/2169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videoactivism.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}