A CHARGE FOR PRIVACY

By design collective Branger_Briz

Pop Up Dates: 26th–28th May 2016
Where: Avery & Co, 34 South Tay Street, Dundee

NEoN presented USA-based art and design collective Branger_Briz’s project, A Charge for Privacy. The station welcomed visitors to recharge their mobile phones if they agree with the Terms of Use, written on the outside of the transparent cube housing the power supply. These terms state that when a phone is plugged in and charging, all the images stored on it are downloaded. As the property of the artists, the images are then are projected – distorted – on an adjacent wall. Branger_Briz was formed in 1988 by Nick Briz, Paul Briz, Ramon Branger and others.

Branger_Briz’s project ‘A Charge for Privacy’ draws attention not only to the design of our mobile devices (commonly complained about for their short battery life, or for the ability of apps like Facebook to drain the battery) but also the design of the service agreements and contracts we enter into for our use of these devices. While we all aspire to truly untethered and wireless networking and communication, in fact everywhere we are tied down.