Psychogeography is the "study of the laws of geographical space on the emotions and behaviour of individuals"(1). Described as "passional terrain"(2) by Guy Debord, psychogeography embodies the discovery of the elements and meaning of 'place'. 'Digital psychogeography' could describe the phenomenon of parallel existence of plane: on earth, and its simultaneous spatial representation in cyberspace, twinning place and "no-place".
The Parent Folder project stems from an interest in these considerations and how they have been considered aesthetically in an age of increasing digital intervention. In 2012, my estranged father gave me online passcode access to his property surveillance camera so that I was able to pan the landscape and become a voyeur of his daily life. I downloaded material from an encoded archive called the Parent Folder, and used it to create objects that responded to my experience of watching him.
In computing, the terms "parent" and "child" are often used to describe the hierarchical relationship between a directory and its sub-directory.
Parent Folder applies principles David Lyon has described when referring to surveillance, in terms of technologies that mediate relationships that are not co-present, as well as surveillance as a replacement for "tokens of trust" where the body has disappeared from interactions (3). The twinned worlds in Parent Folder form an interface through which affective bonds are fostered without face-to-face interaction.
Debord, Guy. Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography (1955) in Situationist International anthology, trans. Knabb, Ken. 1981. Berkeley, Calif: Bureau of Public Secrets, 8-12.
Debord, Guy. Theory of the Dérive (1958) in Situationist International anthology, trans. Knabb, Ken. 1981. Berkeley, Calif: Bureau of Public Secrets, 62-67.
Lyon, David. “Everyday surveillance: personal data and social classifications” in The Surveillance Studies Reader (Hier, Sean P. and Josh Greenberg, eds.). England: Open University Press. 2007. pp. 136-7.
The work was presented as a work in progress as part of the group exhibition, Cyber In Securities curated by Lisa Moren at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC as well as part of a group video installation curated by Terrance Houle and presented at The Works Art & Design Festival in Edmonton, Alberta as well as at Galerie Sans Nom in Moncton, New Brunswick. It was also shown as a work in progress in a solo exhibition at Mouse Print Gallery (Concordia University Print Media Department) and at Art Mûr (Montreal). It's final (full-year archive) iteration will be presented at Studio XX (Montreal) as part of the 2016 HTMlles Festival.