Currenty at Mu Artspace in Eindhoven, The Netherlands: the exhibition “Back End” by Dries Depoorter.

Dries Depoorter is a Belgian media artist and a freelance concept provider.  He has a background in electronics and studied Media Arts in Ghent, Belgium. His work is focused on the internet, especially on topics such as online privacy, identity and surveillance:

In Back End Depoorter shows how boundaries can be dissolved with a few simple interventions. How human creativity and machine learning, private and public, entertainment and morality all blend together online. Anything can be linked and the actual connections are visible in the exhibition ; the cables, the plugs, the way the software works. Depoorter’s play with technology, access and data analysis creates a sense of unease.

Ten recent and new works are on show at Mu, among them Jaywalking. Jaywalking, shows live streams from traffic cameras at intersections with pedestrian crossing lights. When someone unsuspectingly crosses the red light, the installation offers the viewer the opportunity to let know the police: one push of a button sends an email with a screenshot of the violation to the nearest police station. Jaywalking Frames exists of an entire wall filled with these screenshots, except that these were generated with the aid of automated image analysis. The prints can be purchased for the cost of the fine which the buyer would receive in the country where the violation was captured:

Depoorter depicts this and other works in the exhibition as both critical and funny: “you can say they are critical… and, well, I think they are not entirely without humour”. That seems spot on to me, so don’t forget to visit this exhibition if you are anything near Eindhoven, NL. The exhibition runs until September, 23.

More information:

• Mu artspace
• Dries Depoorter website
• Dries Depoorter TEDX talk