Not only A Metaphor

2020 London, UK

Video by Tzu-Ching Hu(Sophie Hu)
The first idea of creating and directing a film using surveillance camera footage collected from all around the world was inspired by an architectural model, the “Panopticon”, an ancient surveillance system that was the most panoramic way to view a situation at the time. It also related to a personal experience of mine, from when I realized we are being monitored by CCTV systems at almost every second in England. When I visit public spaces, this almost-irresistible force was everywhere and this fact has driven me crazy, making me feel exposed. As a person who was born in the countryside of a small island, I don’t have and don’t really like the experiences of living my life sheltered under someone’s sight.

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The making of not only a metapho surrounds a core concept “A sound can’t be truly heard”. There are always signal exchanges and analogue-to-digital translations between any form of communication, including sounds. Even one day we end up face-to-face with the very origin of anything, we still hear our version of the translation, translated based on our memories, experiences, preferences... this resonates with the concept of “Not Only a Metaphor”, these footages can mean nothing to a person, but everything to another. You won’t know more by seeing this existing footage, and even if you feel more, it’s not real but a self-experience projection.