Down the Barrel (of a Lens)

What does it mean to be seen and documented in public space without your consent? Down the Barrel (of a Lens) is a large-scale video installation composed of charged imagery drawn from the NYPD’s declassified surveillance film collections from 1960 to 1980. Each scene captures the moment when civilian subjects realize they are being filmed by a 16mm police camera and choose to stare back at their watcher. These haunting historical portraits raise questions about policing, acceptable intrusion, personal privacy, and quiet protest. Created as a Public Artist in Residence with New York City’s Department of Records, Down the Barrel (of a Lens) received First Prize in the National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition and has been exhibited at Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Army Terminal, and the Museum of the City of New York.

“This powerful work of art doesn’t just recall history, it indicts our present moment.”
—Philip Kennicott, The Washington Post

“An intriguing, sometimes disturbing juxtaposition between the watchers and the watched.”
—Christopher Kuo, The New York Times

“A bombshell piece.”
—Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post