Neighborhood, Watch

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Neighborhood, Watch is a solo window installation by Chris Collins opening on Saturday, November 12th until December 18th. Join us at Co-Prosperity for the opening reception along with Let it Grow: Hoofprints 10th Year Anniversary Exhibition on Saturday, November 12th from 6-10PM. “Eyes on the street” refers to communing publicly amongst neighbors—when we play and socialize in the public realm, we grow our collective bonds. We become safer, together. With the proliferation of home security devices like the video doorbell, ‘eyes on the street’ now refers to disembodied globes, illuminating with each ‘hello’; constantly watching, collecting neighbors and strangers within iron mountains. Passers-by are reduced to unwitting, involuntary subjects to be surveilled, while homeowners become de-facto police operatives, wary and suspicious. At what point does continual surveillance erode community connection, wearing away the threads that bind? Can we imagine networks of support that don’t perpetuate existing models of oppression, isolation, and mistrust? In this public installation, Chris Collins envisions an alternate ‘security theater,’ one in which surveillance technology inverts to become a site of social connection and play. “Neighborhood, Watch.” imagines a space in which we can opt into the camera’s gaze: Anyone walking by can knock to receive a video message from their neighbor, then record a response for the next person (who sees your message and responds with theirs, and so on). See something, say something, repeat. It’s a chain, a wave, a community-wide game of telephone. It’s an informal network of “eyes on the street,” all choosing to focus their gaze with curiosity instead of suspicion—seeing one another, not watching.