The Critical Engineers

A team of artist hackers set out to expose the devices spying on us by sending a balloon to the edge of space.

Russian-born Danja Vasiliev and New Zealander Julian Oliver are part of a growing movement of coders and hackers who use their skills to create questioning and humorous digital art.

Along with Gordan Savicic, they wrote the Critical Engineers manifesto, which posits: "The greater the dependence on a technology the greater the need to study and expose its inner workings, regardless of ownership or legal provision."

Through their art, Oliver and Vasiliev are focusing on showing how vulnerable the public is to mass surveillance. They create visual, interactive digital objects, do street interventions and performance, and use engineering to comment upon the world we live in.

"Engineering is perhaps the most transformative language of our time. Engineering shapes the way that we move, communicate and think," Oliver says.