PANAMA THE FORTUNE
Video installation; variable dimensions (2002)
Surveillance system with a 14 cm monitor
Panamá The Fortune was a video-installation mounted in a corridor of the Museum of Contemporary Art during the VI Panamá Art Biennial. Upon approaching the corridor, visitors saw a small, black and white monitor (with a 14 cm screen) placed on an inclined platform that hung suspended from the ceiling via a long metal pole. The monitor continuously transmitted 390 different 10 second shots of Panama City streets, intersections, and building and house façades. The shots were accompanied by instrumental background music typical of elevators, hotels and supermarkets.
Conceived for long distance infant surveillance, the wireless “baby monitor” received audio and video signals through radio frequencies. The images, imbued with an oneiric and irreal feel due to their low resolution and sharpness, aimed to create tension between the impotence one may feel when one is observed by video surveillance camaras, and the feelings of complacency and tranquility that ambient music intends to provoke in public spaces designed for work, consumption and leisure.