Camera Annihilation

Camera Annihilation is a video essay that interrogates the symbolic and political functions of the camera within contemporary surveillance structures. By dissecting the act of image-making itself, the work proposes a provocative thesis: anything can become a camera under systems of power and observation. Through performative gestures and critical montage, it reflects on how cameras do not merely record reality—they shape it, discipline it, and, ultimately, weaponize it. The piece critiques the entangled relationship between visibility, control, and technology in the age of ubiquitous surveillance.

Presented at the SAIC Spring 2025 Undergraduate Exhibition, the work is accompanied by an interactive installation where viewers are invited to virtually destroy surveillance cameras on a nearby screen. This participatory element transforms the audience from passive observers into active agents of resistance, further complicating the power dynamics between viewer, subject, and machine.