Specular is a final installation project housed in a bespoke, self-contained structure. Within it, at its centre sits a black mirror (if you can pardon the following irony).  It is misleadingly normal, but within the mirror itself is a hidden camera and object identification system that silently observes and labels the person inside. The data captured is streamed in real time to a monitor placed outside the structure, where viewers witness the subject being categorised without their knowledge.

 

The installation is deliberately divided into an inside and outside, mirroring the dual nature of digital life: The solitary, private act of being online versus the public performance of self through social media. The person inside occupies a space of apparent solitude, unaware they are already being watched, while those outside take on the role of passive voyeurs. This division investigates how behaviour shifts when one becomes aware of being perceived, echoing the pervasive yet often invisible surveillance embedded in digital platforms.

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specular continues my investigation into the digital gaze, identity politics, and the power dynamics embedded in algorithmic systems. It marks a culmination of ideas explored throughout earlier works like serm0n, where the AI-generated character g0D first emerged as a visible, quasi-divine voice and spectacle. In specular, this presence evolves into deux, an alter ego, a disembodied voice who speaks to the visitors of the space. 

 

The title specular draws from the Latin speculum, meaning mirror, but also to the concept of specularisation: the transformation of a subject into an object of vision. It also gestures to the psychoanalytic “specular image,” where identity is mediated through reflection. 

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This work speaks to broader themes of being perceived on a multilayered scale, cosidering both the human and the algorithmic gaze. It asks how this persistent perception influences how we come to perceive ourselves. In a culture of constant digital scrutiny, specular investigates how individuals begin to demonstrate or curate themselves in response to being watched. 

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