VISUALISING THE PANOPTICON
Presidio Modelo, “Model Prison”
Isla de Pinos, Cuba
(1928 - 1967)
Isla de Pinos, Cuba
(1928 - 1967)
The prison was built from Bentham’s design of the panopticon, which is surveilled by one central watch tower within a rotunda (round building) lined with prison cells. The layout of the building allows the external and internal light to illuminate every cell, giving the watch tower a full range of view, ensuring the ability to observe the prisoners at any time.
The idea of this projection piece is to visualise the effects of Jeremy Bentham’s “Panopticon Theory of Surveillance”. Overall, the “feeling of endless scanning”, induces a sense of paranoia into the prisoners.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Luke Augur, 2021
