QCHQD - sand sculpture

Don't even ask me what the title means. I can't remember. I write these posts in the throws of a midlife crisis and you should be happy that I can remember anything at all about my past works. I do recall, however, what it was about. It was about the ever-increasing surveillance state. So the title was probably some sort of acronym for a made-up agency I can't remember now. Maybe someone can work it out in down in the comments.

The watchers

Like most things that start as conspiracy theories, it turned out to be very close to reality. We are being watched. Snowden pretty much proved that. They are sucking up all the data they can on us and will have it on tap so they can one day use it against us. The tinfoil hat-wearing brigade was right all along and now that we see what was going on pre-Elon on Twitter as I am sure with all other websites we should have really been listening to the nut jobs. One thing I find really fascinating is that even when the truth does come out nobody really cares as they call it a nothing burger. We seem like boiling frogs steeping in our own juices.

We are being watched and tracked at all times and although we may not be persons of interest at the moment our whole lives are being documented and cross-referenced without our consent. This data exists, get used to it. Possibly in the future, it will be used to turn us all the Solent Green. So we should really care.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

Although I am not arrogant enough to believe I am their top concern at the moment, it pisses me off that I have a voyeur and one I can't call the cops on. I like being a nobody. I like blending in and it annoys me that there are cameras everywhere watching my every move and click. I know that there are people on Hive that cherish their anonymity and I am impressed that they stay in the shadows. For me, I post about my work, which is quite a big identifier of who I am but having the Five eyes building a profile of who they think I really am is very invasive.

This piece is about that all-seeing eye and was made at the Weston Supermare Sand festival in England. It was made as a photo opportunity for the visitors, the irony being that as they post their selfies to The Facebook or Twitter that it for sure gets filed away by the dragnet. One day, when I find myself on a rendition flight to Gitmo they may be right there alongside me for being a part of my support network. You will too when you Vote on this post or leave a comment. I warned you!

Eyes within eyes

With all this talk of AI and the excellent work by people like Open.ai etc, I am sure these models will be trained on the data they gather and it will spit out names of those to keep an eye on or be rounded up for a cull. We are witnessing the creation of our own prison and have near apathy towards it.

{Pictured Fellow Sculptor Eda Kaytan}

What the hell am I talking about

As with my writing, this sculpture is not an answer to anything. Rather a way for me to express an idea that was floating around my head and start the conversation. It is just a sketch of an idea with no definite revelation or conclusion. Sometimes it is nice to make an idea in your head tangible to see if it makes sense. In this case, maybe not.

Here is the sketch I sent for my form plan and to give the organisers some sort of idea of what I'd make. I have said many times I don't like to send sketches as I am never really sure what I will make till I start. The sand in Weston that year was full of shells and rocks and not the nicest to carve. I probably would have had a better time making something if I could work on the fly and change my idea to suit the situation but with this sketch, I was pretty much locked in.

I like it for what it was although it maybe had as many people confused as my last piece did. I think this one I made in Switzerland along a similar theme with Alan Magee read a bit better.

alt

Ps

Thanks for reading. I use PeakD to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, amongst other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Hive Blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.