Inspection House
2019
Textile, wallpaper, venus flytraps, rug, slippers, embroidery and alarm
10' x 6' x 5'
This installation is named for the central watchtower— the Inspection House, in Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon—the central viewing space from which an institution keeps a watchful eye over it’s prisoners. Each of the letters in the embroidery is an aerial view of a prison, spelling out Home Sweet Home. The patterns in the wallpaper and slippers are from security envelopes from government and corporate surveillance patterns. I included the venus fly traps because of their ability to trap prey. By inserting objects and imagery about control and surveillance, I emphasize the paranoia that is part of contemporary surveillance culture and the injustices hidden in plain sight, woven into the fabric of comfortable living spaces.
All images copyright of Elizabeth Duffy, 1998-2024