London Tonight : Paranoia of a London Attache Case (v)

Two short news bulletin featuring the 'Paranoia of a London Attaché Case' project, broadcast on the ITV (Carlton TV) London Daily and Evening News programs on the 2nd June 1996.

Cotterrell produced The Paranoia of a London Attaché Case as part of his final year degree show at Winchester School of Art. First shown at the London Transport Museum, the installation of 7 videos played concurrently on 7 monitors, follows the journey of an attaché case as it is carried through the maze-like platforms, corridors and escalators of Bank/Monument underground station.

All footage is filmed using the station’s security cameras, which Cotterrell was granted access to in the time leading up to morning rush hour. A microphone concealed in the case records the accompanying audio, a succession of muffled bumps, footsteps, beeps and screeching wheels. Edited live on site, the film is difficult to follow: although we are able to hear the movements of the case, the cameras cannot always show us where it is. That this extensive CCTV network has such gaps in its perception becomes a point of paranoid concern: what exactly is going on when we cannot see the case and its carrier?

The 22-minute film begins with a woman placing the case on an empty platform. The woman leaves and the case is effectively abandoned. Soon, footsteps are heard, and a man appears. He takes the case and walks away to have his movements tracked by the 81 cameras. Ultimately, the case arrives where it was first placed: the man places it on the platform and exists, leaving the case ready for its next transport circuit.