Surveillance Images Become Monochromatic Paintings

Unless you look closely enough, it’s easy to miss some of the real art gems hidden in the world… and sometimes you even have to look in the most mundane and overlooked places. Take security cameras for example. These watchful little eyes peer out at us from seemingly all corners of the world: convenience stores, cash machines, banks and nearly every corner of London. Behind each of these cameras is a recording system and a monitor capturing a distinctly grainy image of the often unsuspecting world.

William Betts looks closely at these overlooked sources for inspiration. The artist has created an entire series of images, which look uncannily like those on the screens of the worlds CCTV monitors. His acrylic based paintings recreate the grainy, pixilated view of low-fi video, along with their washed out black and white shades.

In Betts paintings are groups of people wandering through urban environments on their way to work or to shop. Some of his images capture their faces close-up, as if we are closely inspecting his subjects actions. By reproducing such overlooked imagery, his paintings inspire questions about the ethics and necessity of such technology… and most obviously, its never ending observation of our lives.

For more on his work, see williambetts.com or mcclaingallery.com.

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