The body camera is a tool I use in my work, usually in remote locations without the possibility of onlookers, questions, confrontation, conversation. Wearing the camera in the context of my normal routine in my neighborhood, at my deli, in my coffee shop, riding the subway, grocery shopping makes me nervous- vibrate with excitement and fear. Reading while on the subway quickly became a kind of escape from staring eyes- it has become an element of the project. Reading while filming helps to maintain a centered focus and a way to provide context to what might be another mundane video feed.
In today's video you'll see a young woman visibly affected. Her subtle reactions are incredible- she is having her own internal battle trying to be at ease with a lense half-hazardly pointed at her for what feels like forever.
READING: Edward Snowden’s Strangely Free Life – As a Robot, New York Magazine, June 26, 2016.