Canman’s Savage Surveillance series explores modern data mining and tech surveillance

Savage Surveillance 4 painting series: Intrude, Pester, Seek, & Destroy - 9”x 12” acrylic on panel.

A new series of paintings by artist Canman explores the unsettling reality of modern surveillance culture. Titled Savage Surveillance, the collection uses powerful symbolism to question how technology corporations collect, analyze, and profit from personal data.

Each painting in the series depicts a vulture with a surveillance camera head. Branded with the logos of major technology companies, these hybrid creatures serve as metaphors for digital systems that continuously observe human behavior.

Vultures are nature’s ultimate scavengers—patient, watchful, and relentless. In Savage Surveillance, they represent corporations that feed not on flesh but on information.

• The four paintings form a narrative:

  • Seek examines how search engines transform curiosity into data.

  • Pester explores the constant nudging of recommendation algorithms.

  • Intrude reflects the hidden data exchange embedded in everyday technology.

  • Destroy addresses the darker side of social media platforms that amplify outrage and division for engagement.

    Set against surreal landscapes filled with bones and skulls, the works ask viewers to consider the true cost of “free” digital services. The skies are filled with watchers, and the ground below tells the story of what has already been consumed.

    The Savage Surveillance series is now available for collectors.

    New prints for this series will be dropping on March 20th, 2026 at theMassachusetts Tattoo and Arts festival. Prints the original paintings will also be available for purchase in the shop on Monday, March 23rd at 9:00am.