November 20, 2025·Aesthetic Study
Mass Surveillance Aesthetics
If the camera is always on, CCTV aesthetics say you might as well direct the shot.
We all know we’re being watched — so why not make it aesthetic? Mass Surveillance Gooning (in Alex Hartman’s words) is the visual language of being permanently visible to the technological eye. Observation becomes performance; surveillance flips to sousveillance — finding moments of resistance by controlling how you’re seen.
Caught on Cam
- Anduril’s anime-styled military branding
- Lockheed Martin’s swagged out streetwear in Korea
- Artists Sun Yan and Peng Yu’s work exploring humanity in the mechanical eye

