Harun Farocki

Harun Farocki (Czech Republic, 1944)

primarily works with the medium of television.

He studied film and television in

Berlin and was editor of the magazine

Filmkritik. Since 1966 he has made a variety

of productions for both television and cinema.

His work has been studied widely in

scientific publications. He exhibits all over

the world.

In the installation I Thought I Was Seeing

Convicts (2000) Farocki uses two television

screens. One screen shows soundless

surveillance footage from a high-security

Californian prison. In a prison yard, where

the inmates are allowed a half an hour’s

fresh air each day, a fight breaks out.

Everyone who is not involved immediately

lies down on the ground, putting his hands

on his head. The fighters are first given

a verbal warning by the guards over the

loudspeaker and then with rubber bullets.

Those who ignore the warnings are more

forcefully persuaded with real bullets. One

of the prisoners is shot and eventually carried

away. The second screen shows prison

guards laughing as they watch role-play

footage of a comparable situation.