Ways of Watching

Runbin Xiao

Summary
Final work

I am a visual designer focused on the narrative potential of visual materials, assembling fragmented perspectives and dispersed content to create new meanings. I explore the specific content, perspectives, and aesthetics offered by various digital platforms, spaces, and environments.

I am a visual designer focused on the narrative potential of visual materials, assembling fragmen...

“When closed-circuit cameras were installed in the lobbies of New York City apartment buildings, residents discovered new ways of watching their neighbours. Inability to hear them seemed to make the experience even more exciting, since the viewers were free to generate their own theories about what was going on.” — Eavesdropping: An Intimate History, John L. Locke, 2010

Through the assemblage and association of images, fictional or speculative stories are constructed. This convergence of gazes allows us to reconnect with, or even 'create,' the history and events of a place. This book assembles images from different digital sources around Cadogan Lane (a randomly chosen location on Google Maps), piecing together potential clues and events within the images through association. It can be viewed as a collection of image associations, a voyeur’s album, or a private detective’s archive.