24h Sunrise/Sunset Turns Unsecured CCTV Cameras Into Something Beautiful

IP cameras are often left unsecured, and while this can be a bad thing, Dries Depoorter wanted to demonstrate that they can also be used to make something beautiful. His “24h Sunrise/Sunset” art installation does just that, by utilizing unsecured CCTVs from around the world to reveal sunrises and sunsets in real-time.

The device takes the form of a portable console, with four on-board VFD displays to show the local times, as well as the location. VFDs are driven by an Arduino Nano Every, and the actual sunsets are displayed with dual Raspberry Pi 3Bs. It’s currently configured to exhibit images on two projection screens at the free “Window of the World” art festival, in the town of St. Moritz in Switzerland. The festival is put on by Riverside Culture, who helped set up the actual installation, and runs until October 18th.

Although pleasing in this context, Depoorter has created many projects that comment on our connected world, and the fact that having these kind of cameras unsecured isn't such a good thing. For another sample of his work, be sure to check out Depoorter's write-up on his “Quick Fix” device that allows you to buy (fake) likes or followers in the form of a vending machine.