Across Histories Artist Talk Series: Segregated Spaces — On Progress with Hasan Elahi Tracking Transience: The Orwell Project

Hasan Elahi, Rhododendron 12 feet x 9 feet x 4 feet
2 channel video, sound and light installation
as installed at Beaker Gallery Tampa, Florida, 2003

Across Histories Artist Talk Series:

Segregated Spaces — On Progress with Hasan Elahi
Tracking Transience: The Orwell Project

January 13, 2010
7 p.m.
Cabinet Magazine Space 300 Nevins Street Brooklyn, New York 11215

Due to an erroneous tip-call into law enforcement authorities in 2002, artist Hasan Elahi was subjected to an intensive post 9-11 investigation by the FBI. After undergoing six months of interrogations and ultimately nine consecutive lie-detector tests, he was cleared of suspicions. After this harrowing experience, Elahi conceived "Tracking Transience", a self-tracking system that constantly and publicly presents his exact location, activities and other personal data. Please join Elahi for a presentation and discussion of Tracking Transience: The Orwell Project, a self-surveillance project and critique of contemporary investigative techniques, which provides an ongoing "alibi" for Elahi in the event of future accusations.

Hasan Elahi is an interdisciplinary artist whose work examines issues of surveillance, simulated time, transport systems, borders and frontiers. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions at venues such as the Centre Georges Pompidou, Sundance Film Festival, Kassel Kulturbahnhof, The Hermitage and at the Venice Biennale. Elahi was recently invited to speak about his work at the Tate Modern, Einstein Forum and at the American Association of Artificial Intelligence. His work has been supported with significant grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, Ford Foundation/Philip Morris and the Asociación Artetik Berrikuntzara in Donostia-San Sebastián in the Basque Country/Spain. Currently, he is the Chair of Digital Media Art at San José State University.

Curated by Lauren Pearson, Across Histories is a free monthly series centered on developing an ongoing critical discussion of artistic practices in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and their diasporas. Debuted at the Elizabeth Foundation Gallery in Manhattan in September 2008 and now housed at Brooklyn's Cabinet Magazine Space, Across Histories provides a compelling platform for artists, designers, curators and art critics to present and discuss their work, oeuvres, historical moments, theories, writings and exhibitions that have had the most impact on their professional practices.