The idea of trust in the telematic
                   interaction is a recurrent theme in this
                   exhibition, and it makes sense, as all of the
                   pieces require some sort of interactive
                   relationship. You have to give something
                   to get something. Steve Mann's
                   "Seatsale," for example, requires you to
                   swipe a credit card or any other form of
                   identification with a magnetic strip to
                   experience the project. I felt extremely
                   reluctant to dig into my wallet for a piece
                   of plastic, an oddly hypocritical response
                   based on the ease in which I'll trustingly
                   insert my ATM card into all manner of
                   potentially bank-account draining slots. 
<p>
But after the gallery attendant bravely
                   activated the piece with her Visa card, I
                   followed suit. This enabled me to sit in an
                   elaborately rigged chair and witness a
                   paranoia-infused video documenting a
                   trip to Sears in which the man behind the
                   camera asks various salespeople about the
                   surveillance cameras. Some of the clerks
                   are more forthcoming than others about
                   the fact that security cameras are there to
                   catch shoplifters. After a while, a shrill
                   alarm buzzer rings a warning that if you
                   don't get up, something like those tire
                   puncturing grates in parking lots will rise
                   out of the seat and jab you in the heinie. 
<p>
The latter elements just seemed silly and
                   superfluous compared to the real cultural
                   challenge posed by the uneasy knowledge
                   that you swiped your card and it took your
                   personal info -- to add your identity to a
                   database perhaps? One doesn't know.