SEARCH is a two-part, city-based television project by Pat Naldi and Wendy Kirkup that took place in Newcastle upon Tyne (1993) and Adelaide (1996). In both cities, the artists undertook synchronised walks to separate locations in the city centre, using newly installed CCTV surveillance systems as the sole means of recording the events.

In SEARCH (Newcastle), filmed on 17 May 1993, Naldi and Kirkup walked simultaneously through different areas of Newcastle city centre. Their movements were captured by a 16-camera surveillance system operated by Northumbria Police and the City Council. The resulting work comprised twenty ten-second sequences broadcast during commercial breaks on Tyne Tees Television between 21 June and 4 July 1993, as part of the Tyne International Festival.

SEARCH (Adelaide) followed in 1996, with a second synchronised walk recorded on 14 February in Adelaide’s city centre. This time, a 15-camera surveillance system installed along Hindley Street and Rundle Mall by the City of Adelaide Corporation captured the event. Fifteen ten-second sequences were broadcast on Channel 7 between 17 February and 9 March 1996 as part of the Telstra International Adelaide Festival.

Across both cities, SEARCH transforms systems of surveillance into tools for artistic observation, revealing fragmented, simultaneous views of urban space and exploring questions of visibility, control, and embodied movement within the monitored city.