Surveillance experts welcome Nineteen Eighty-Four exhibition to Stirling

Data protection and surveillance experts at the University of Stirling are hosting a unique exhibition of George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Through a month-long exhibition and associated events, the University hopes to bring new audiences to the classic tale exploring privacy, surveillance and data-keeping – and at the same time highlight its own research in these subjects.

The Winston Smith Library of Victory and Truth launches on Data Privacy Day, January 28, at the University library. Stirling is one of only a handful of locations in the country to host the interactive exhibition of 1,984 pre-owned copies of the novel, which visitors can handle. The exhibition is a collaboration between the University's Management School and its Art Collection.

The University is home to the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP), a collaboration of five universities which focuses on the political, legal, economic and social dimensions of contemporary technologically mediated surveillance practices.

The Winston Smith Library of Victory and Truth, named after a character in Nineteen Eighty-Four, has been created by artist Hans K. Clausen. Its arrival at the Stirling campus follows a successful run at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh as part of the Society of Scottish Artists annual exhibition, and on the island of Jura, where Orwell wrote the novel.

The copies of the novel include inscriptions, study notes and narratives from the books’ owners, for visitors to read. There will also be new copies of the novel, to which visitors can add their own notes.

As well as the exhibition, the University plans to host schools and reading groups, online and in-person talks, a screening of the film Nineteen Eighty-Four at Macrobert Arts Centre, and the CRISP annual lecture.