The work “Oppression” was an installation of projected videos onto the walls of the Hexagon Gallery at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. There were four similar videos loops of my eye, close up, black and white, looking into the camera and moving around. The viewers were able to walk freely around the room in order to grasp the feeling I am trying to compose with this installation. This piece transformed the Hexagon Gallery into an intimate exposure of the sensation of being watched.

The purpose for this installation is to create a space for the viewer to receive a sensation of being watched. The idea of this work stemmed from a low-level sexual harassment experience I had. This experience made me realize how oppressed I feel being a woman in this society. The thought which has not always been on my mind but I have noticed when going into certain male dominated establishments and during numerous work and personal related situations.  In order to convey my message, I created an environment that portrays the feeling of being watched by projecting four video recordings of my own eye onto the walls of the gallery. The viewers were allowed to walk freely around the room in order to get a better sense of this feeling. In doing this some of the viewers happened to walk through a few projections automatically making them a part of this work. The application of video into this work really drives home the real-life feeling of being watched by a real-life eye. The use of my own eye relates to myself being put in the position of power. I am the predator now. The location of this installation is exactly the demographic I wanted to communicate too, being a University where many students have the ability to relate to this work.