On the Other side

Project Overview

“On the Other Side” is a conceptual installation exploring the fragile relationship between surveillance, protection, memory, and truth.

For decades, cameras were seen as instruments of control — silent witnesses of power, symbols of intrusion into private life. The paranoia of Big Brother shaped our collective imagination, forcing us to turn away, hide our faces, and fear constant observation.

But today, the meaning of being watched has changed. The philosopher Michel Foucault once wrote: “Power reveals itself through observation: to see is to control.”

And yet, in today’s fractured reality — where freedom is often mistaken for lawlessness , cameras have transformed from tools of surveillance into bodyguards. They have become protectors, witnesses, and keepers of memory.

Concept

The installation examines this paradoxical shift and is rooted in two personal stories:

In one, a single recording saved someone from a devastating fine — and perhaps from a broken life.
In another, the absence of cameras erased accountability entirely, allowing a person whose actions took two lives to walk away free.
In both cases, cameras defined the existence of truth —sometimes preserving it, sometimes letting it vanish forever.

Themes

Surveillance and Power → shifting roles from control to protection
Memory and Truth → redefining what is remembered and forgotten
Freedom and Lawlessness → exploring fragile social boundaries
Personal vs. Collective Justice → cameras as the silent witnesses of our time

Technical Details

Medium: Multimedia installation, conceptual narrative, video components
Format: Adaptable for galleries, museums, and private collections
Status: Available for exhibition and full-scale physical production
Implementation: Upon request, the installation can be produced and realized physically
Contact: tacmelova@gmail.com

Artist’s Note

This work invites viewers into a space where observation becomes presence and memory becomes proof. In an unpredictable, often brutal world, perhaps the only entities that truly see and remember everything are not human at all.