They’re watching! This sixty-four strong robotic mirror-head collective is an unnerving art installation, simply titled “Audience.” Left alone, they mingle amongst themselves, but as soon as someone approaches, they stop and stare at you – as you stare back at yourself – in their reflective mirror faces.

The installation, put together by Chris O’Shea and Random International, attempts to investigate whether diverse emotional reactions can be aroused in people by simple machines.

The contrast between their private mingling and their collective surveillance is stark and blurs the lines between the viewer and the viewed. Each mirror-robot is fitted with two servo motors, providing tilt and pan head rotations and they collectively track and focus on an individual (even in a crowd) via an overhead camera.

It feels like a mash-up of CCTV cameras and the one-way mirrors in police interrogation rooms. You suspect you’re under surveillance, but you don’t really know for sure when all you can see is your own mug looking back at you.

Sources:

Chris O’Shea and Random International

Via: Sippey and Kottke