For our third micro-commission, titled Insecure, we invited 4 filmmakers and videographers to make a short narrative film (up to 5 minutes), using only the 6 security cameras set up in the BAC’s space.

We are reminded of Milan Trenc’s fantasy tales of museums coming to life after hours, art heist thrillers like the Thomas Crown Affair or the sharp institutional critique of Andrea Fraser filming herself in sexual acts with collectors. We also have fresh in our minds, the compelling images of people on Hamra street obstinately smashing the CCTV cameras of banks, as we are now acutely aware of the generalised security regimes that surveil our movements and behaviours with machinic vision.

By focusing on the BAC space as starting point for these commissions, we are also attempting to playfully come to grips with the condition of physical exhibition spaces in the aftermath of restrictions on mobility and gathering brought on by COVID19 pandemic. Unfortunately, during the preparations for this round of Micro-Commissions, a heavier reference imposed itself onto our visual imaginaries tied to CCTV footage, and that is the anticipation of the disaster that rushed into the intimacy of our lives and demolished our shelters.