Virtual Gaze
photo access
Virtual Gaze interrogates corporate surveillance of the body. The body expresses and performs a visual language which is observed, hijacked and interpreted by algorithms, making assumptions about us through the monitoring of our bodies and faces. Synthesising analogue photography, digital technologies and material output, the project considers how contemporary surveillance technology, classification of the body, data sets and algorithmically curated content impacts user’s agency, reality and future.
The portraits perform ‘The Cohn-Kanade Dataset’s’ facial expressions, engaging with the original photographic data set, which informs contemporary Machine-Learning biometric affect recognition. Using my body as a conduit for investigation, I employ expanded methods of photography such as photogrammetry, gaussian splatting and other filtration to capture a virtual gaze of the body.
Three-dimensional output transposes my visual data into a sculptural print is an antithesis to the virtual images we consume via the luminosity of screens. The choice of materials like copper deliberately mimics elements of the infrastructure that homes and facilitates the technology used to surveil, interpret and interrupt our bodies. Virtual Gaze probes the aesthetic potentials of both analogue photography and developing technologies as means to expose, understand and visualise the power structures concealed.
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Cameo: Construction of Servers (sadness), (anger), (joy), (disgust), (fear) and (surprise), 2025,
portland cement, graded sand, calcium aluminate cement, calcium carbonate,
polyvinyl acetate homopolymer resin,
25.5 x 21 x 15 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Silicone Valley Conductor (surprise), (fear), (disgust), (joy), (anger), and (sadness), 2025,
etched copper, cast silicone frame
24 x 19 x 2 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwe, Facade Map Tile (surprise), (anger), (disgust), (joy), (sadness) and (fear),2025,
dye sublimation print on carpet tile, 50 x 50 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Galvanic Envelop, 2025,
photographic print on BFK Rives, punctured with eyelets, hung on zinc hooks
and twisted shackles,
177 x 23 cm, Annabelle McEwen, Processed Caress, 2025,
photographic print on BFK Rives, punctured with eyelets, hung on zinc hooks
and twisted shackles,
200 x 35.5 cm, Annabelle McEwen, Virtual Embrace, 2025,
photographic print on BFK Rives, punctured with eyelets, hung on zinc hooks
and twisted shackles,
122 x 40 cm, photography by Eunie Kim
Close-up of Galvanic Envelop, Annabelle McEwen, 2025,
photographic print on BFK Rives, punctured with eyelets, hung on zinc hooks
and twisted shackles,
177 x 23 cm,
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Data Centre (Smile, you’re on camera), 2025,
CMYK screen print animation with recorded data centre hum, displayed
on ipad with privacy screen-protector mounted to welded steel stand, rust
penetrant, copper wire, silicone and plastic bound by screw lock carabiner,
electricity,
122 x 29 x 62 cm
Annabelle McEwen, Compressed Solid: Hard Copy (joy), (sadness), (fear), (surprise), (disgust) and (anger),
2025,
digital print on vinyl
10 x 15 cm (each)
Annabelle McEwen, Data Centre (Smile, you’re on camera), 2025,
CMYK screen print animation with recorded data centre hum, displayed
on ipad with privacy screen-protector mounted to welded steel stand, rust
penetrant, copper wire, silicone and plastic bound by screw lock carabiner,
electricity,
122 x 29 x 62 cm
Annabelle McEwen, Data Centre (Smile, you’re on camera), 2025,
CMYK screen print animation with recorded data centre hum, displayed
on ipad with privacy screen-protector mounted to welded steel stand, rust
penetrant, copper wire, silicone and plastic bound by screw lock carabiner,
electricity,
122 x 29 x 62 cm, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen
Annabelle McEwen, Data Centre (Smile, you’re on camera), 2025,
CMYK screen print animation with recorded data centre hum, displayed
on ipad with privacy screen-protector mounted to welded steel stand, rust
penetrant, copper wire, silicone and plastic bound by screw lock carabiner,
electricity,
122 x 29 x 62 cm, photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Cameo: Construction of Servers (sadness) and (anger), 2025,
portland cement, graded sand, calcium aluminate cement, calcium carbonate,
polyvinyl acetate homopolymer resin,
25.5 x 21 x 15 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Cameo: Construction of Servers (joy) and (disgust), 2025,
portland cement, graded sand, calcium aluminate cement, calcium carbonate,
polyvinyl acetate homopolymer resin,
25.5 x 21 x 15 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Cameo: Construction of Servers, (fear) and (surprise), 2025,
portland cement, graded sand, calcium aluminate cement, calcium carbonate,
polyvinyl acetate homopolymer resin,
25.5 x 21 x 15 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Silicone Valley Conductor (surprise) and (fear), 2025,
etched copper, cast silicone frame
24 x 19 x 2 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Silicone Valley Conductor (disgust) and (joy), 2025,
etched copper, cast silicone frame
24 x 19 x 2 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Silicone Valley Conductor (anger) and (sadness), 2025,
etched copper, cast silicone frame
24 x 19 x 2 cm (each), photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Data Centre (Smile, you’re on camera), 2025,
CMYK screen print animation with recorded data centre hum, displayed
on ipad with privacy screen-protector mounted to welded steel stand, rust
penetrant, copper wire, silicone and plastic bound by screw lock carabiner,
electricity,
122 x 29 x 62 cm
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Annabelle McEwen, Data Centre (Smile, you’re on camera), 2025,
CMYK screen print animation with recorded data centre hum, displayed
on ipad with privacy screen-protector mounted to welded steel stand, rust
penetrant, copper wire, silicone and plastic bound by screw lock carabiner,
electricity,
122 x 29 x 62 cm
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Eunie Kim
Installation view of Virtual Gaze, Annabelle McEwen, photography by Tim McEwen