Smiling Businessman Pointing at Something

A fantasy story on exhibitionism, filmed through security cameras.

2021

There is a website that collects live images from security cameras from all over the world on one page. While scrolling, you end up in a world that passes slowly and stuttering without sound. Before going to bed you can watch the sun rise in Tokyo or a thick fog hanging over Reykjavik.

The slowness and silence make the video’s stand in contrast with everyday life on the street. It gives the impression of the public space being a calming fantasy world.

 

Together with two actors I visited places that are monitored by security cameras:

In the story, two men arrive on a rooftop while the narrator takes the other man along into a fantasy about fleeing into nature together. The fact that they are in a garden on a roof terrace contributes to their exalted sense of their flight fantasy, standing above the bustle of the city that rages below them. But it’s also a closed off garden in the air, this contradicts their search for endless nature; they’re only partly capable of leaving the crowd of people behind.

Who are these men?
They are Gus and Gert. Gus is a model who grew up in a family of Vogue models. Gert offers his acting skills to art students and likes an exhibitionistic life. Both like to be watched. I wondered; how do they relate to each other when they know they can be seen all over the world through this security camera platform? The scenes are partly staged and partly improvised, influenced by their preference on how they liked to be viewed. This resulted in a looping fantasy story in which both men use each others presence to stay in their own fantasy world.