Back in the 1980s the (west) German government wanted to collect some information about the people living in the country. It was called "Volkszaehlung", (census of population)... pffft, as if they didn't have everyone on record. And if there was someone without a file, that person most likely didn't want to have one created.

From today's standpoint, the information, that was to be gathered seems pretty "harmless". Nowadays, any decent business with a web shop knows more about us. Let alone the big guys, like google or the so called social networks. Nevertheless, privacy and keeping personal information personal, was still a big deal and there was so much resistance about disclosing address or date of birth, that the Government finally had to give up on the project.

The right methods to make people freely give away all the data, simply were not developed yet...

Today, any time I look at a computer screen or mobile device, I can't shake the feeling of someone looking over my shoulder.

Someone is always there, our favorite communication devices are full of candy... ahm cookies! God, what a name for it anyways. As if one liked them better, if one thought they were sweet :-b

But hey, we do get a choice, right? I'm thinking of this little check box, for instance. "Do you accept these terms?" Sure. What if I didn't? Well, then I don't get my cookie! Pun intended ;-)

A little while ago, I was reading through a magazine. No, not a digital online publication. One of these old fashioned things. Made from paper! While I was thumbing through the pages and reading the articles, I suddenly became aware, that nobody knew, that I was doing that and what I was looking at! 😱 Anarchy!!

The absurd thing is, that I have become so used to doing things on a computer and having every move and interest tracked, that the absence of that felt sort of raw and unusual!

The mechanism on my painting "The Spy" looks crude compared to today's possibilities. Its an older painting, inspired by Orwell's "1984" and the "Volkszaehlung" mentioned in the beginning. Little did I know, how it would all develop...

The painting is done in my special glass painting technique. I also made the frame, as I do with all my glass originals. This one is riveted titanium-zinc.