AN exhibition at a university is giving people the chance to see the world through the eyes of an artist -as well as carry out some eavesdropping.

The Breaches and Leaks exhibition, at the Vardy Gallery, at Sunderland University, showcases the work of New York artist Julianne Swartz, with her first solo show in Europe.

The exhibition, which runs until February 17, features a number of "speaking tubes" and periscopes, or participatory scopes as Ms Swartz calls them.

When you listen through the speaking tubes, you can hear distorted sounds throughout the building, so, for instance, can eavesdrop on a conversation in the gallery's cafeteria through a drinks machine, or you can listen to George the caretaker's radio through a tube while enjoying a view of the park surrounding the gallery.

Similarly, when you look through the periscopes, you can see various parts of the building, but with the images reversed, blurred and distorted.

Ms Swartz lives and works in New York. She has exhibited in numerous institutions across the US.