Unwritten CU | Elle Heaps

Unwritten will be exhibiting this May, displaying the final degree work from 25 artists graduating this year from Coventry University. The work displayed showcases a diverse range of practices, methodologies, and mediums. Themes explored include environmental awareness, womanhood, documentaries of Coventry’s communities and investigations into family archives. To celebrate the upcoming exhibition, we interviewed three of the artists who have been turning heads. First up, Elle Heaps...

Artist Elle Heaps’ installation, ‘Clandestine’ explores the fragile world of the digital age through a CCTV style aesthetic.

Hey Elle! Can you tell us more about yourself and your relationship with photography?

Hey Chloe, so my initial interest in photography started when I began travelling. It was through looking at the metadata of my travel images that my interest in surveillance kind of came about, as I notice how much identifying information

was contained in this! Especially how easy it was for someone to pinpoint your location.

As an artist you explore a strong skepticism towards the worldwide web and your current series ‘Clandestine’ is a visual representation of this. Can you tell us more about your work?

‘Clandestine’ for me personally is a sort of exposé on the behind the scenes of the Internet. I think too many people ‘accept cookies’ and click ‘I agree’ without really knowing what sort of tracking they’re signing themselves up for; as well as not taking their own privacy settings seriously.

How and why did you choose to design the media featured on the computer screens? Did you have any influences?

One of my biggest influences is Rachel Maclean; her works strong politic and the way she presents this is something I aspire to present in my own work. I have also taken influence from the work of Ryan Trecartin, Merry Alpern and Adam Harvey. The decision to make the computer screen mirror a CCTV style camera was to reinforce the message that internet users are being tracked once they’re online, but also to make the visuals familiar to the audience.

You’ve created a really uncomfortable situation for the viewer to experience, detailing how incredibly easy it is to hack and track people online. Why do you think this is an important concept specifically within the 21st century?

I recently completed a body of work that focused on the decline of the attention span and the relation this has to social media. I think in the post-digital age individuals have become more passive, as they scroll through their newsfeeds and continually multitask. I wanted ‘Clandestine’ to be the sort of piece that demanded the viewers full attention and one that they struggled to move past, due to them feeling scared of what is presented in front of them and how they can relate to it.

Who are you aiming ‘Clandestine’ at, and what reaction or impact would you like them to take away after viewing your series?

The work is designed to make the Internet user question what their current online presence says about them. Does their browser history incriminate them? Does their home address lead to price manipulation when online shopping? Who is the other side of that webcam? There are so many ways in which we are all being watched. My work isn’t meant to turn the viewer off the Internet for good but it is more an attempt to educate them on how to obfuscate themselves, even if only slightly.

See more of Elle’s body of work on her twitter @Heapsofelle

And if you love El’s thoughts on the digital age, be sure to check out Evan’s article on Beyond Digital featured in the latest issue of #PHOTOGRAPHY Magazine.

www.unwrittencu.com

Visit unwritten’s exhibition free public openings:

27th May 11am-7pm

28th- 2nd June 12pm-7pm

3rd-4th June 11am-7pm

At The Box,

Fargo Village,

Coventry,

CV1 5ED

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Twitter: unwritten_cu

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