Dataveillence T, t-shirt, 2017
Custom printed t-shirt designed for At a Distance, Shift Space Gallery at Wichita State University College of Fine Arts (Wichita Kansas, KA) and curated by Jesse Allen, Conan Y. Fugit, and A. P. Vague.
Dataveillence T is a mass-produced, grey, long-sleeve men's t-shirt (size medium). On the front it sports a minimalist graphic of a lighthouse (see images on page 2), a beacon of hope for sea travelers, as a symbol of the expanse of surveillance. The graphic is surrounded by text that reads: "Infrastructures of Dataveillance @Watch."
Like many graphic tees, the Dataveillance Tee communicates a message: Beware of data surveillance.The back of the shirt lists ten consumer products that conduct such surveillance – the iPhone, Lumo Lift, FitBit, etc.
In case you didn’t know, the grey crew neck shirt happens to be the "It item" of 2017, according to Refinery29 style editor Alyssa Coscarelli. Regardless, as a whole, the piece highlights the irony as well as the seductive power of consumer culture.