PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 12, 2012
Hasan Elahi: Thousand Little Brothers
January 24 – March 23, 2013
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 24, 6-8pm
Maryland Art Place (MAP) is pleased to present the work of one of Maryland states most prominent and internationally acclaimed artists, Hasan Elahi in the solo exhibition, Thousand Little Brothers.
Interdisciplinary media artist Hasan Elahi, a former subject of an intensive FBI investigation post 9/11, developed an ongoing self-surveillance project to disclose every bit of information about him. Thousand Little Brothers is comprised of over 50,000 images collected over the course of a year along with screenshots of his financial data, communication records, and transportation logs. This multimedia exhibition builds on a series of installations, performances, and websites that use Elahi’s self-surveillance to critique contemporary investigative techniques. A second innovation in this work is its embrace of surveillance for its subject’s own protection; Elahi has protected himself from unwanted scrutiny by making his entire life and whereabouts publicly accessible.
Elahi’s work examines issues of surveillance, simulated time, transport systems, and borders. The Thousand Little Brothers exhibit employs the use of multiple cameras, televisions and audio - immersing the viewer pseudo-voyeuristic behaviors and observational obsessions. The exhibit is a complex circuit of output and input. Elahi also draws inspiration from each space that he exhibits in; there is a consideration of surrounding buildings and infrastructure. MAP is located in a highly touristic area of Baltimore and is also adjacent to the Baltimore Police Department and “The Block,” Baltimore’s red light district. This location will play a role in the exhibition outcome.
Terrorism and technology are tightly linked. Advances in technology have made it possible for people to enter other’s lives without our knowing. Elahi’s work addresses the experience of citizenship and boundaries through his artwork. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions at venues such as SITE Santa Fe, Centre Georges Pompidou, Sundance Film Festival, and at the Venice Biennale. Elahi was recently invited to speak about his work at the Tate Modern, the American Association of Artificial Intelligence, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, TED Global, and the World Economic Forum.
Elahi’s awards include grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, Art Matters Foundation, and a Ford Foundation/Phillip Morris National Fellowship. His work is frequently in the media and has been covered by The New York Times, Forbes, Wired, CNN, ABC, CBS, NPR, and has appeared on Al Jazeera, Fox News, and on The Colbert Report. In 2010, he was an Alpert/MacDowell Fellow and in 2009, was Resident Faculty at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He is currently Associate Professor of Art at University of Maryland where he is Director of Digital Cultures and Creativity in the Honors College and lives outside of Washington, DC – roughly equidistant from the CIA, FBI, and NSA headquarters.
Connecting artists with communities since 1981, Maryland Art Place (MAP) is a Baltimore-based nonprofit contemporary art center. MAP energizes the region’s cultural environment through dynamic exhibitions, interactive events, educational programs and public art projects. Information: mdartplace.org | 410 962 8565.
Press Inquiries contact: Sofia Rutka, Program Manager sofia@mdartplace.org OR Amy Cavanaugh Royce, Executive Director amy@mdartplace.org