404 NOT FOUND

Abstract

404 NOT FOUND addresses an arts-based studio practice exploring how data and technology quantify and surveil the self. Specifically, in this paper, I outline my creative research practice and my interest in using my own body as a subject to create artworks that explore the expansive reach, as well as the limitations, of surveillance. This thesis support paper follows a chronological trajectory that traces my art practice throughout the two years of my MFA programme. My creative research started from using animation entitled Black Quantified-self, as a vehicle to engage with the concept of the “quantified-self.” I created a series of hand-drawn animations to discuss the pros and cons of “quantified-self.” Then, I connected “quantified-self” with big data, and created an installation called Seeing Yourself through Technology with my photos and self-portraits. In addition, I expanded the topic into large notions of surveillance, and created two videos, The Blue Pill and We Are Walled.