SlyPhone
A mirror taught the phone to look sideways.
A tiny open-source camera attachment redirected an iPhone’s view by ninety degrees, turning an ordinary phone into a discreet counter-surveillance device.
- Period
- 2013-2014
- Status
- Complete / Archived
- Form
- Open-source camera accessory
The project
An open-source mirrored-acrylic attachment that redirects an iPhone camera ninety degrees so it can photograph sideways without drawing attention. Created with James George (2013–2014). Exhibited in Pyroerotomachy at the 8th Biennale of Photography, Galeria Miejska Arsenał, Poznań, 15 November–15 December 2013, with a related workshop.
SlyPhone redirects an iPhone camera ninety degrees so the phone can photograph sideways without drawing attention. James George and I created it as an accessible counter-surveillance technique while Google was launching its Glass Explorers program. The laser-cut mirror gave anyone a way to photograph public space without pointing the phone at the subject.
We took SlyPhone to the 8th Biennale of Photography in Poznań, where images made around the city were transmitted into the gallery. I traveled to Poland for the exhibition and led a related workshop with a group of participants.
My role
I helped develop the mirrored camera attachment and make it available as both a finished object and a laser-cutter file. I also led a SlyPhone workshop in Poznań during the photography biennale.
Selected credits
Scatter
Co-Founder / Immersive Director
- Alexander Porter
- Co-Creator / Collaborator
- James George
- Co-Creator / Collaborator