FABIOLA LARIOS
PrincessCam Dreamland, 2024
Located at 23rd Street and Collins Avenue in the Walgreens storefront
PrincessCam Dreamland is a site-specific installation by interdisciplinary artist Fabiola Larios that functions as a social experiment that probes the boundaries of privacy, consent, and voyeurism in the digital age. Using glitter, gemstones, LED lights, and other “girly” aesthetics, Larios investigates surveillance culture through the lens of whimsy and nostalgia.
For the installation, Larios has repurposed the seemingly innocuous elements of several CRT “Princess” TV monitors and bedazzled analog surveillance cameras. The monitors, which are connected to the surveillance cameras, show a feed of happenings as they occur just outside the windows. This setup engages passersby with a live, unrecorded glimpse of themselves and their surroundings, reflecting the present without capturing it. Adjacent to this display, Larios features laser-cut wood letters with glitter with the message: There is someone always watching. The sparkly sign invites viewers to ponder the omnipresence of surveillance in their lives through the contemporary reality of constant observation.
In the artist’s words:
“This installation serves as an allegory for the pervasive gaze under which society finds itself. The bedazzled camera, devoid of its traditional function to record and store, instead broadcasts live footage to the vintage TVs, challenging the audience to confront the realities of surveillance, without the consequences of permanence. It’s a playful commentary on our collective discomfort and fascination with being watched, inviting participants to engage with the idea of surveillance as a constant yet unseen presence in our lives.”
Together, the components of the installation create a dialogue between the light-hearted and the profound, between the visible and the implied. They serve not just as a decorative feature, but as a poignant reminder of the installation’s core exploration: the duality of being watched as both a comforting and intrusive experience. PrincessCam Dreamland invites onlookers to reflect on the complexity of surveillance, privacy, and visibility in a world where the line between watching and being watched is continually blurred.
By transforming the act of surveillance into an ephemeral experience, Larios prompts passersby to reflect on the transient nature of observation and the uncertain and continuously shifting nature of privacy. The installation beckons viewers to question the role of surveillance technologies in our public and private spheres, juxtaposing the innocence of its components with the complexity of its subject matter.
*No one is being recorded for the purposes of this art installation.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Fabiola Larios (b. 1986, Tampico, Mexico) is a Mexican interdisciplinary artist based in Miami, Florida, and currently in residence at Bakehouse Art Complex. Her work focuses on probing the convergence of technology, identity, and representation in the digital age. Through her work with AI, net-art, and computers, Larios questions our comprehension of the self and the influence of the internet, especially social media, on our existence.
A visual spectacle of e-waste, surveillance cameras, mannequins, glitter, gemstones, LEDs, and girly aesthetics, Larios’ installations evoke a sense of warmth and nostalgia while simultaneously challenging viewers to consider the environmental toll of technology. Her work challenges audiences to ponder on how technology molds our understanding of self through personal data and invites a critical examination of our digital lives. For example, Larios addresses the ramifications of how the intimate details of our lives are exploited by corporations and governments.
Select group exhibitions include Face Control at Fundación Foto Colectania (Barcelona, Spain) in 2021 and Planetary Atoll: Connecting Latin-American Dots at PANKE Gallery (Berlin, Germany) and Creacion en Movimiento at Centro Cultural Los Pinos (Mexico City, Mexico) in 2022. In 2021, Larios received the Jovenes Creadores grant in the category of New Technologies from Mexico’s Ministry of Culture. Currently, she is featured in Sea Change at the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
Learn more about the artist at https://fabiola.io/ and follow her on Instagram @fabiolalariosm.
ABOUT THE BASS X BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX WINDOWS PROJECT
The Walgreens Windows Project is a collaboration between The Bass and Bakehouse. Featuring site-specific projects by emerging and local artists on a rotating basis, the projects represent the shared missions of the Miami-based arts organizations to support art that engages, challenges, and educates. The project is supported by Walgreens.
ABOUT THE BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX
Located in Wynwood Norte (a 20-minute drive from these windows), Bakehouse Art Complex is the working home to approximately 100 Miami-based artists who make art, discover, learn, and share work with each other and the community. Its artist community derives from a rich diversity of backgrounds and represents a broad range of media and practices, from painting to performance, from traditional to experimental. The organization provides affordable studios to artists offering access to on-site infrastructure, creative and professional development opportunities, among a community of peers. Visit bacfl.org to learn more.
