Information of Note (2014)

Up until 2014, the New York police had a Demographics Unit, a secret programme to spy on Muslims. Undercover detectives infiltrated neighbourhoods where Muslims lived to listen in on conversations and compile detailed records on Islamic entrepreneurs – where they ate and did their grocery shopping, and which mosques they visited. In his installation INFORMATION OF NOTE, Josh Begley combines photographs and notes from police records, exposed by Associated Press. Of each monitored premises, Begley shows a photograph of the exterior, the address and telephone number, and the ethnicity of the owner. The banal observations of the detectives sketch a remarkable image of the daily lives of those who were spied upon. The programme has never led to a clue. However, it is held partly responsible by many groups for creating an overall atmosphere of fear.