ATC presents Hasan Elahi: 'Tracking Transcience: The Orwell Project'

On Monday, October 13, digital media artist Hasan Elahi will describe his experiences with FBI interrogation and his subsequent art project in a public lecture, "Tracking Transience: The Orwell Project," part of UC Berkeley's ongoing Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium (ATC).

After an erroneous tip called into law enforcement authorities in 2002, Elahi was subjected to an intensive post 9-11 investigation by the FBI. After undergoing months of interrogations and nine lie-detector tests, he was cleared of suspicions. After this harrowing experience, Elahi conceived "Tracking Transience" (http://trackingtransience.net), a self-tracking system that constantly and publicly presents his exact location, activities, and other personal data. This self-surveillance project is a critique of contemporary investigative techniques and provides an ongoing "alibi" for Elahi in the event of future accusations.

Hasan Elahi is an interdisciplinary artist whose work examines issues of surveillance, simulated time, transport systems, borders, and frontiers. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions at venues such as the Centre Georges Pompidou, Sundance Film Festival, Kassel Kulturbahnhof, The Hermitage, and at the Venice Biennale. Elahi recently was invited to speak about his work at the Tate Modern, Einstein Forum, and at the American Association of Artificial Intelligence. His work has been supported with significant grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, Ford Foundation/Philip Morris, and the Asociacion Artetik Berrikuntzara in Donostia-San Sebastian in the Basque Country/Spain. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University.