{ THE 2ND BORDER }

TYPOLOGY: Encrypted Datascape

LOCATION: Chung Ying Street, Hong Kong

SYNOPSIS:

The project began with the fascination with mass surveillance systems, but it evolved to delve into the intangible and unseen domains of machine vision and surveillance.

By examining 2D, 2.5D, and 3D machine visions and experimenting with ways to transfer artefacts [glitches + objects] between physical and digital spaces, the project plays with the notion of ‘in-between-ness’. Ultimately, the project proposes a bespoke architectural system driven by the frustrations of machine vision, exposing and countering the machinic gazes of AI-enhanced surveillance.

FEATURED IN:

Postdigital Neobaroque Vol.2

CityX Venice Virtual Pavilion 2023

Venice Art Biennale Virtual Pavilion 2022 kennethcai.com/ the-2nd-border

Photogrammetry

Due to the restricted location along the Hong Kong-China border, OpenStreetMap and GPS data are unavailable. To gather information, photogrammetry is used to create a 3D model of the site using computer vision and interpretation. Drone footage from a public archive is processed into a dataset of still frames, with around 150 frames used for photogrammetry in software like Meshroom. The software triangulates the frames and establishes global geometry, creates a depth map, and combines both the dense and sparse reconstructions into a 3D mesh format.

SURVEY AREA

SHENZHEN

DENSE POINT CLOUD

COLOURED POINT CLOUD

TEXTURED MESH

The encryption of faces and spaces through the confusion of machine vision using architectural language, interference patterns, enigmatic objects and infra-red lighting.