The term surveillance may suggest images of high-tech cameras or George Orwell’s ever-watching Big Brother, but surveillance involves more than watching and being watched. To understand surveillance and its consequences, look to data: who collects it, what information is compiled, how it is interpreted, and ultimately, why it matters. The new exhibition, “Surveillance: From Vision to Data,” opened at the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments on Sept. 22. The exhibition delves into the multifaceted concept of surveillance, exploring its historical origins, impact on society, and evolution into the digital age.
Throughout history, scientists have created diverse instruments for producing and analyzing data. Colonial powers, intelligence agencies, and corporations alike have in turn wielded these techniques for surveillance — to oversee land, to make certain people visible, and to control behavior. The effects of surveillance through data have been both subtle and overt, from enabling new forms of discipline to entrenching social hierarchies.
The exhibition exposes data’s profound and ongoing influence, revealing an elusive and ubiquitous form of visibility. Curated by graduate students at Harvard’s Department of the History of Science and Harvard’s Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies, the exhibition explores this story by presenting critical contemporary artworks and historical surveillance instruments side-by-side.