thestar.com

In a typical foray as seen in the documentary Shooting Back (filmed entirely by his right eye), [Steve Mann] enters Sears while filming from his "eyetap" glasses, and concealing a video camera behind his back. When he asks Sears clerks if the black pods on the ceiling are surveillance cameras, they either deny the cameras exist, or explain that they are "for customer comfort and safety." Mann then whips out his video camera, and asks them again as they squirm under the counter-surveillance, in obvious discomfort. "Sir, why are you filming me?" they ask.

While Mann's ultimate plan for the future is a rosy one, he still feels the best way to direct the future in a responsible way is to satirize the dystopic futures that must never be, hence the decontamination chamber on display at Gallery TPW. The jury is still out on whether the society he advocates is utopian or dystopian, but Mann clarifies that there is a path towards ultimate truth in his work.

Explore the work of Mann and others at www.wearcam.org and www.media. mit.edu/ projects/wearables. Explore the work of Mann and others at www.wearcam.org and www.media. mit.edu/ projects/ wearables.