How does public space shape our sense of freedom and vulnerability? Where does the protection of basic rights end and surveillance begin? In the performative-installation intervention When No One Is Watching, Alex Deutinger and Alexander Gottfarb explore the boundaries of vulnerability and control in the urban environment. Taking on the role of an imaginary “Department for Artificial Security,” they turn everyday rituals into performative acts: cleaning traffic and information signs to the sounds of the European anthem, measuring distances between trees with red-and-white tape, or staging romantic barbecues with guitar and megaphone. These actions create a subtle, often absurd tension between actual security and its simulation. Equipped for crowd control, they transform ordinary urban objects into improvised elements of performance.
While No One Is Watching adapts to each host city, responding to its cultural and urban context. In Ljubljana, it will take on a unique form, inviting the audience to reflect while subtly drawing them into the performative process.
