Exchange Project
A Cross-border Performance of Free Trade
The Exchange project used cultural resistance to unsettle questionable relationships between international politics, technological surveillance, and identity construction. Specifically the project addresses: 1. The politics of trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); 2. Myths of increased national security through technological surveillance of people and commodities; and 3. Identity construction based on collections of economic and surveillance data.
The outstanding visible feature of Exchange was the cross-border performance of free trade. During the 4 month extended performance in 2006, I drove a commercial transport truck ~30,000 km in a near circumnavigation of Canada and the United States (with separate events in Mexico and Argentina). Wherever I stopped, my personal belongings were traded with the people I met. Each of the items was conspicuously tagged with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) microchip to provoke thoughtful and informed questioning of the limits and liabilities of this technology. Individuals participating in Exchange were asked to trade an item of their own and to tell a personal story relating to that item. The stories were recorded and the RFID tags enabled people to scan items and listen to these stories. The value of the trades was in their narrative content rather than in economic parity. Any (ethical) trade was acceptable, there was no negotiation, trades simply required a personal story. In a time when many countries were increasing fortifications to ‘protect’ citizens from dangerous strangers, I was interested in breaking down barriers, in creating temporary communities of mutual vulnerability, personal connection, and solidarity.
A Cross-border Performance of Free Trade
The Exchange project used cultural resistance to unsettle questionable relationships between international politics, technological surveillance, and identity construction. Specifically the project addresses: 1. The politics of trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); 2. Myths of increased national security through technological surveillance of people and commodities; and 3. Identity construction based on collections of economic and surveillance data.
The outstanding visible feature of Exchange was the cross-border performance of free trade. During the 4 month extended performance in 2006, I drove a commercial transport truck ~30,000 km in a near circumnavigation of Canada and the United States (with separate events in Mexico and Argentina). Wherever I stopped, my personal belongings were traded with the people I met. Each of the items was conspicuously tagged with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) microchip to provoke thoughtful and informed questioning of the limits and liabilities of this technology. Individuals participating in Exchange were asked to trade an item of their own and to tell a personal story relating to that item. The stories were recorded and the RFID tags enabled people to scan items and listen to these stories. The value of the trades was in their narrative content rather than in economic parity. Any (ethical) trade was acceptable, there was no negotiation, trades simply required a personal story. In a time when many countries were increasing fortifications to ‘protect’ citizens from dangerous strangers, I was interested in breaking down barriers, in creating temporary communities of mutual vulnerability, personal connection, and solidarity.
Trading Things & StoriesMy coffee press was replaced by the military ID tags of a young American soldier just finishing his tour of duty in Iraq and his story of war. The recipe box of a someone's recently deceased partner became a cherished birthday gift to another’s girlfriend. A man just released from a Korean prison trades his prison sneakers and the story of how he came to have them. A toy fawn, a childhood present from a loving grandmother, is lovingly adopted by another young girl. Newly on his own, someone trades the keys to his parents’ home. A politician trades a Canadian flag from Parliament Hill for a Robertson Davies novel.
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About RFIDRadio Frequency Identification technologies are being increasingly used to improve profit. From tracking commercial goods as they are transported around the globe to discouraging theft of retail merchandise, RFID has been hailed as a secure replacement to the barcode. Preliminary use of RFID in retail markets has many concerned about infringements of personal privacy. By intentionally tagging and trading everyday items outside of a commercial database system, the items and participants become “performers” in further expressions of culture jamming. The role of RFID in global politics and economic concerns for security and surveillance is of immanent significance. Capitalizing on the propagation of terror, the rapid development of surveillance and identity authentication systems such as RFID is well underway.
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