Electrons on the threshold is a single channel video installation exploring the social consequences of the rise of surveillance in public and virtual space. The installation includes a video, a series of collage panels and a fictional magazine.

Electrons on the Threshold is a single-screen video installation exploring the social consequences of the rise of surveillance in public and virtual space. The project is set in a future Rotterdam, which has been rebuilt again after a mysterious disaster. It centres on a fictional narrative inspired by the reconstruction politics of Rotterdam after the World War II bombing, reimagined in today’s context of constant urban renewal, displacement of socioeconomic groups and the development of surveillance technology. Themes of nostalgia and estrangement intertwine with issues of privacy and censorship. By exploring how the aftermaths of catastrophes are used as clean slates for creating “new and improved” urban and virtual spaces, the project dives into how they can also be used as an opportunity for new kinds of governmental and corporate control to be introduced.

Through a series of video messages, we experience the perspective of Victoria, who lives in Nieuwe Erasmus Plein, the rich part of the city where citizens’ data is sold for profit. She is trying to contact her best friend April, who has chosen to keep her privacy and stay in a poor neighborhood.