Since 9–11, Michael Layefsky has focused his artistry on aerial photography. His methods are as simple as human being’s first successes at flight, he uses kites and balloons to lift his camera. His passion for aerial photography developed in parallel with multi-million dollar advances in mapping technology from satellite imagery launched by Google to service the whole world. Layefsky's practice is for personal artistic expression. His images are posted on Flickr and they are licensed through Getty Images.
At times Layefsky's practice has been confused with industrial espionage. One such incident with security guards near an industrial site led to an federal investigation. Layefsky convincingly argued that much of the detail that he captures is widely available through Google. His argument carried the day and he was vindicated. The agent performing the investigation issued a friendly warning to Michael: "be aware that there is a general climate of fear, and that these activities might result in similar incidents in the future."
The Installation reverses the same process Layefsky uses for lifting his camera, to project images on the floor of the space. The projections are developed in four chapters totaling 9 minutes and 11 seconds as a reference to the anniversary of 9/11 attacks. Chapter I features kite and balloon photography from Michael Layefsky. Chapter II makes a comparison between Layefsky’s images and the detail found in satellite and aircraft surveillance by Google. Chapter III features a brief timeline that bridges aerial photography with developments in aerial and satellite surveillance. Finally Chapter IV makes an overview of some of the technologies used by Google to surveil the planet.
The name for the piece came from the 70’s song Love is in the Air as it symbolizes our quest and love of the technologies that from the air surveil everywhere we look around.
