The stark white space of the exhibition hall housing Zhang Qing’s latest work, titled simply “CCTV,” seems almost intentionally designed to make visitors feel vaguely uncomfortable and self-aware. In this evocative, Orwellian-themed show, the new media artist takes his audience on a tour through the eyes—and lens—of Big Brother: China’s ubiquitous security cameras.

The most physically striking piece of the exhibit is an oversized camera stand, much like those discreetly located at every bank and busy intersection. The metal base of Zhang’s enlarged version, Tree, is bent at a nearly 90-degree angle, clearly straining from the weight of the half dozen cameras and flashbulbs positioned at its ends.

The majority of the other pieces spread throughout the sparse exhibition space are whiteboards, recognizable to anyone who’s familiar with television crime dramas or detective work. Each board from the Suspect series displays grainy images from public places like the Expo or People’s Square Metro station that could have been captured by a closed-circuit camera, destroying any notion of public privacy. Notes scrawled in marker surround the photos and appear to be the disjointed thoughts of a state security agency gathering intelligence. Words like “secretly track,” “behaving suspiciously” and “suspected Falun Gong member” jump out from the chaotic jumble of text.

In two smaller rooms off the main exhibition hall, video installations explore a different side to the CCTV theme. Here we see how media networks advance the government’s carefully orchestrated public image. The first video, The People’s Secretary, tracks the daily activities of a local government official as he helps the elderly and visits with small businesses. A native Chinese person narrates the piece in English, representing a common media experience in China. Across the space, a documentary plays from the Glenfiddich Whisky Distillery in Scotland, where Zhang spent time as an artist in residence. In this video, Learning from Tom Smith, a single, exemplary worker is profiled. It is a familiar video concept for most Chinese—holding up the work of an ideal employee as the model for success—but seems displaced in the Scottish factory setting. This time, a Westerner narrates the video in Chinese.

Despite dark undertones, the show is playfully provocative while calling attention to how state media and intrusive surveillance systems operate in China. Zhang’s subtle incorporation of international references also spotlights nuances of a society beyond the scope of Big Brother’s prying eyes―but one not unnoticing or unaffected.

DETAILS

What: Zhang Qing: CCTV

Where: ShanghART H-Space

Now: Now through Jan. 28

Web: www.shanghartgallery.com