Chatroulette: Discipline and Punish

Telematic Performance, 2011

On Saturday, April 30th, 2011, I conducted a performative reading from Michel Foucault's "Discipline and Punish" in the online video chat space "Chatroulette" - the main feature of which is the randomized connection with strangers from across the internet. The reading was specifically focused on the section of Foucault’s text detailing his consideration of Bentham's theory of the panopticon - a design for a perfect prison where the inmates are under constant surveillance. The five minute reading was part of the Low Lives 3 International Exhibition of Online Performance. I performed a four-hour version of the piece, on Friday, May 13th, 2011, as part of Daisy Chain: An Anarchic Performance Event, Antena Gallery, Chicago.