Overview
A 20-meter-per-side black triangular structure briefly dominated Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, standing in stark contrast to the ornate historic architecture surrounding it. Resembling a giant triangular UFO, the temporary installation was designed not as a speculative claim about extraterrestrial craft, but as a visual and technological commentary on the expanding reach of public surveillance.
Named PANOPTICON, the work was created by Spanish urban artist SpY and remained in the square for four days in late October. Positioned opposite the Palacio de Cibeles, the monolithic structure transformed a familiar civic space into an environment that encouraged visitors to reconsider who is watching them—and how often.
A surveillance system turned inside out
The installation incorporated closed-circuit television cameras mounted along its upper rim and apex. These cameras transmitted live views of nearby streets, traffic, pedestrians, and surrounding buildings to viewing areas inside the structure.
Visitors could enter small, discreet observation sections and watch fragmented images of the public space from an elevated perspective. In doing so, ordinary members of the public were temporarily placed in the role of observers. They could monitor people moving through the plaza without being readily visible to those being observed.
That reversal was central to the installation’s effect. Passers-by saw an imposing piece of contemporary art, while people inside could observe activity beyond the structure. The arrangement echoed the often-invisible nature of modern surveillance, in which individuals may know cameras are present but cannot easily determine when they are being watched, by whom, or how recorded images might be used.
The panopticon concept
SpY’s work draws on the panopticon, an 18th-century concept developed by philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Bentham proposed a circular prison design in which cells surrounded a central observation tower. Because prisoners could not know when they were being watched, the possibility of constant observation was intended to encourage self-regulation.
Although the Madrid installation did not reproduce Bentham’s architectural design, it adapted the underlying psychological principle. The black triangle functioned as an opaque monitoring point, while its cameras extended the structure’s field of vision into the surrounding city.
The use of a geometric form associated by many viewers with UFOs also added an element of uncertainty. Its unfamiliar silhouette made the installation difficult to ignore, but the subject it addressed was grounded in everyday technology: CCTV networks, digital tracking, and the routine collection of information in public environments.
Public space as a subject
By placing PANOPTICON in one of Madrid’s most recognizable squares, SpY connected the artwork to the ordinary routines of urban life. The cameras captured streets and traffic rather than distant or abstract scenes, emphasizing that surveillance is not confined to high-security facilities or science-fiction settings.
The installation invited visitors to ask how much observation has become normalized in cities, and whether people remain aware of the systems operating around them. It also highlighted the difference between the physical presence of a camera and the less visible forms of monitoring associated with digital services, connected devices, and data-driven tracking.
A temporary intervention
PANOPTICON’s four-day appearance made its presence deliberately temporary, but its questions were broader than the installation itself. Once removed, the square returned to its usual visual balance, leaving behind a contrast between the conspicuous black structure and the largely unseen surveillance technologies that continue to operate in many public spaces.
Rather than presenting surveillance as a distant threat, SpY’s work made it tangible and interactive. For a short time, visitors could experience both sides of the system: the person being observed and the person doing the observing. The result was an artwork that used the visual language of a UFO to focus attention on a more familiar—and increasingly pervasive—feature of contemporary urban life.
