Japanese pachinko parlors are typically loud and crowded with gamblers. Consequently, these spaces are usually closely monitored by video surveillance. In lieu of fixed cameras, X,Y, an intervention in a pachinko parlor in Kobe, Japan, mobilizes the surveillance apparatus to animate the interior. A slow-moving gantry crane holding four cameras tracks across the ceiling of the street-level parlor, scanning the rows of pachinko machines. A vertical scanning device is located in the cleavage between the escalators and stairs. Two synchronized belt-driven cameras move in opposite directions, up and down, guided by cables. These cameras provide ascending views through the building, connecting the basement, street, and upper levels. A video wall at street level alternates between the two live feeds, one horizontal and one vertical.
