The Illusion of Security

## The Illusion of Security

Locks. Gates. Guards. Cameras. Barriers. Helmets and hard hats.The theater of safety.
This week, we’re turning our lenses toward security — or the illusion of it.
From padlocks on gates and rolled-down corrugated steel shop doors to uniformed guards behind folding tables, this assignment is about how we try to protect space, and the ways that protection is performed, improvised, or quietly failing.

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### What to Look For:

• Locks — rusted, broken, doubled-up, or decorative.
• Chains and padlocks, bike locks to mailboxes
• Gates — chained, ajar, ornate, or industrial
• Surveillance cameras and motion sensors that may or may not be working
• Security booths, empty or occupied
• Warning signs — “No Trespassing,” “Private,” “24hr CCTV”
• Security personnel — formal or makeshift (vests, folding chairs, handwritten logs). Police if you dare!
• Barriers — barbed wire, ropes, tape, fencing
• Places where security fails or is absurd — a massive lock on a flimsy door, a sign with no gate, a guard asleep at their post

This is a great chance to explore irony, repetition, symbolism, and how the city tries to enforce rules, and how individuals control trespassing and theft — visually and physically.

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### Why This Matters:

Security is everywhere — visual, psychological, architectural. But often, it’s more about perception than protection.
We’re not here to mock or intrude. We’re here to observe how security is displayed, layered, and sometimes performative. This is about the objects and structures that say: “This place is protected.”
Whether or not that protection is real… is up to the viewer.

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### How to Approach:

• Frame contrast — a heavy lock on a glass door, an old camera on a new building
• Look for texture and signs of decades of weathered use.
• Use shadows or reflections to add tension or ambiguity
• Shoot both wide for context and tight for detail

This could be an interesting assignment for black-and-white shooting, focusing on tone, texture shape, and contrast.

Any camera will do, including phones and point-and-shoot. Composition is always the most important factor.

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### Meet-Up Details:

Start: 2:30 PM
Meeting Point: Yau Ma Tei MTR Exit A1, Street level (by the motorcycle parking). I think this area will be good as there a lot of closed shops down Canton and Reclamation on Sundays.

Debrief: 4:00 PM
Let’s shoot for 90 minutes and meet again to talk about what we found.

Reservation under Robert:
LIBERTY COFFEE & WINE
NO. 2 DUNDAS STREET (near Ferry Street)
MONG KOK

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### After the Walk:

Post approximately 5 images that explore this theme. If this topic really resonated and you generated even more amazing images, post more! Think about narrative, metaphor, and contradiction.

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Locks can be broken.
Barriers can be symbolic.
Security can be an illusion.
Let’s photograph the spaces where control meets vulnerability.