The Argus Project

The Argus Project is a counter-surveillance exo-suit and 3 channel video installation which directly intersects the current debate over police violence and state surveillance.

According to Greek myth, Argus Panoptes was a giant with 100 eyes who served as an eternal watchmen, both for – and against – the gods. This mythic character is inspiration for the exo-suit in which an array of camera “eyes’’ have been embedded into a suit of tactical armor, meant to create a “force field of accountability” around the bodies of those targeted. The video captures interviews with family members of victims, former officers and activists.

While some see filming the police as a subversive act, it is in fact, a deeply democratic one. The act of bearing witness to the actions of the state – and showing them to the world – strengthens our society and institutions. The Argus Project is not so much about an individual hero, but the Citizen Body as a whole.

Together, we are all Argus.