Christopher Synnott
Chris Synnott is a photographic artist based between Dublin and Cork. His work varies from commentary on pertinent social topics to speculative insights on human concepts. Through his work he hopes that important and useful conversations will spark in open minded viewers, while also provoking new questions and challenges to established opinions. His work often utilises photo-manipulation, as well as cinematically inspired lighting techniques. Coupled with his photographic work, he also works in moving image and other artistic media.
Internet of Nothings
More than 1.5 billion smartphones have been sold globally each year since 2017. In the first quarter of 2020, there were 2.6 billion active Facebook accounts. With 68.4 CCTV cameras per 1,000 residents, London is the most surveilled city in the world. Technology in all its forms is immensely commonplace in 2020, and it offers many benefits to its users. Connectedness, utility, safety, are just some examples of benefits offered by the technology behind these statistics. But are we too quick to accept these efficiencies? Do we give enough consideration to a potential negative side to these technologies that have become so ingrained in our everyday lives?
My photographs for Internet of Nothings serve as a reminder that, while technology is an immense improvement to many people’s quality of life, it is important to keep in mind the sacrifices and potential negatives that often go overlooked when networked technology is adopted into our lives. To have a healthy relationship with the technology that we encounter each day, critical thinking can keep us healthy and protected. Through my work, I aim to stimulate more critical thinking and contribute to this conversation.
In my dissertation, I examine the intricate relationship between surveillance, security and privacy, in a world increasingly dominated by ‘dataveillance’. I focus on the cultural and historical context for surveillance, and how surveillance technologies have been facilitated by photography. Using the theories of Michel Foucault regarding the panopticon as a behavioural control system, combined with updated perspectives by Didier Bigo and Thomas Mathiesen, I question how the panopticon exists in the current moment. I analyse three artworks by contemporary artists working with issues of surveillance and security leading to the conclusion that while photography, surveillance and security have had an intricate relationship in the past, this relationship is evolving.
Photobook
Technology in all its forms has a massive importance in all our lives. We welcome it with open arms, but do we do so too willingly?
This work brings a critical perspective towards the technology we use everyday, to promote a healthier relationship with said technologies.