Border Patrol

Surveillance cameras provide the data for a system that controls robotic "sniper cams" ("sniper cameras"). These capture moving targets (in this case the heads of visitors) and fire "shots" (corresponding shooting sounds). On monitors embedded in the metal side panels of the installation, visitors can see their own heads in the crosshairs of the sights. Each of the four automatic "sniper cams" can target up to 32 individual objects.
The work addresses the effects of surveillance technologies and the strategies of the US government, which in the 1990s aimed to frighten the population by suggesting a heightened threat level in order to increase the acceptance of "anti-terror" laws. For the 1997 Ars Electronica catalog, Garrin noted: "The recently passed new anti-terror laws significantly restrict the freedom of the citizen and bring the USA closer to the status of a police state. The new laws provide for an increase in police forces, surveillance of the population through the development and use of technological means. In addition, even more police and military units are to receive tactical training in preparation for urban warfare and counter-terrorism operations. What happened to the American Constitution? How did the government get the population to accept increased police surveillance of their daily lives without a widespread revolt against it? Create a fear of terror and identify a well-defined "enemy" and the masses will give up their privacy and civil liberties for more "security". [...] The state's message: create a state of insecurity in order to create security by any means necessary. Ask yourself do you really want that?"
In 1997, the installation received the "Award of Distinction" in the category "Interactive Art"