CATASTROPHE OF SUCCESS

 

Catastrophe of Success Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2025

Speed, Technology, and War

Cultural theorist, Paul Virilio wrote extensive commentary about speed, technology, and war. His book Desert Screen: War at the Speed of Light (2002) is an English translation of an earlier 1991 French publication. 

Virilio identified that the first Gulf War (1990-1991) signposted a pivotal change in the character of war. He presciently observed that in the first Gulf War the “real environment for all important military action is no longer so much the geographic environment, be it desert or other terrain, but rather the electromagnetic domain” (1). The electromagnetic domain Virilio refers to is the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), and speed of light frequencies (RF, microwave) that enable digital and cyber inter/connectivity in the earth to orbiting satellite environment. Please note, both military and civilian technologies increasingly rely upon the EMS. 

Over 35 years after Virilio's observation, our current wars are a continuation of a trend he identified - speed is the mantra. While speed is often mentioned in various government, military and defence industry media, it is not a focus of critical attention. Yet, it is the underlying agitation, for example, for the Australian government's 2023 National Defence: National Defence Strategic Review, warning that "in the contemporary strategic era, we cannot rely on geography or warning time" (2). And, another note - artificial intelligence and machine learning assist in maintaining the tempo. This, of course, involves the removal or reassignment of human beings. 

In 2012 Virilio observed, "For speed, its success is also its damage" and "Its success itself becomes a catastrophe." (3) 

Catastrophe of Success

My painting Catastrophe of Success was inspired by my research and Virilio's prescient observations. Like most of my paintings, lines connecting various elements indicate electromagnetic signals that carry data and instructions. These 'signals' seemingly extend beyond the painting into the wider environment, drawing us all into the militarised world via various hyperconnected media. 

It is important to note that in an active contemporary war zone, signal connectivity, and therefore identification of signal emissions, can mean as little as 90 seconds to ready for attack. For those in the midst of the quagmire of kinetic and signalic warfare, the bloodiness of war remains. This is why Catastrophe of Success is painted predominantly red. Speed and signal connectivity can be deadly. 

The painting is a scape - a cosmic scape, a militarised scape ... It extends from the strange hands - are they human or robotic - to orbiting satellites. Various well known symbols for connectivity occupy the scape's mid zone. They are proxies for human activity. Sky-based and space-based assets complete the 'occupation'. Look closely - there are larger drones, smaller drones, and various satellites. A smartphone, situated on the far right, displays its various apps, each one allowing instantaneous access to a plethora of choices from social media to banking. The blue squares mimic the pixelated 'sky' I have painted in the background. I ask, what is real landscape and how does our understanding of landscape change in a digitised world where we constantly gaze at screens positioned 20-30 cm from our eyes? 

There's much more to think about, but I'll leave that up to you. I will however, leave you with a sobering statement that 'speaks' to why techno-success in an increasingly dual-use age can be catastrophic. War Studies scholar Matthew Ford makes a blunt assessment of the smartphone in his book, War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at Our Fingertips (2025). He argues that the smartphone is now ‘a central weapon of war’ and an ‘integral part of the kill chain’ (4). 

1. Virilio, Desert Screen, 88.
2. Australian Government, 25.
3. Virilio, TheAdministration of Fear, 69.
4. Ford, 17, 100.

*My article 'Light Speed, Contemporary War, and Australia's National Defence Strategic Review', in Digital War journal, examines the Review through the lens of speed. 

__________________________________________________________________

NEWS

I presented about my research and creative practice at the AOC Aust/NZ Convention in Canberra last week. The AOC (Old Crows) is an international non-profit professional organisation for people working in electromagnetic and information warfare capabilities. 

I am pleased to report that my presentation was very well received. And, my stance that I was not there to provide answers, but to provoke questions was also openly received.

• My presentation was: The Invisible Battlespace: What Does it Look Like?

What does the 'invisible battlespace' look like? This seemingly simple question is addressed by contrasting standard digital representations/simulations of the EMS and the 'invisible battlespace' with research-informed creative visualisations. I present this contrast as a productive way to critique and perhaps shift current conceptualisations of the invisible battlespace.

For example, should the EMS be designated a domain, along with land, air, sea, cyberspace, and space? Does the beyond-human speed (and therefore time) of signal-enabled hyperconnectivity and interoperability position scale as a risk?

Focussing on signal invisibility and issues of speed, time, and scale, this presentation meets growing calls for new ways to imagine and think about war in an age where civilian and military digital and cyber technologies are increasing reliant on signals.

I opened my presentation with an image of my painting Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain. Dromology is a word Virilio developed for the study of speed. A speaker earlier in the conference had said we cannot see ourselves in total. So, I opened my presentation saying that with imagination we can try - with imagined flight we can conjure a totality beyond the screen, the sensor, the aperture. Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain, turned out to be the perfect opening slide - an image of the pale blue dot (after Sagan, Earth) ringed (satellite zone) by repeated symbols for lightspeed - c - and covered with interlocking circles representing hyperconnectivity via fake 'clouds'. 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

OUR COSMOLOGICAL HISTORY

Our Cosmological History Gouache on paper 56 x76 cm unframed 2024

I have not posted for some time! But, there's news! A painting in an exhibition, and a published commentary piece in Digital War Journal. As the commentary piece, "Light-speed, Contemporary War, and Australia's National Defence Strategic Review", is open access, I invite you to read it at this link - https://doi.org/10.1057/s42984-024-00091-2 

I was thrilled when the editors encouraged me to include two of my paintings. 

THE EXHIBITION

Our Cosmological History (above) is a new painting. It is currently in an exhibition Duality - an artistic exploration of quantum science, in Sydney at Flow Studios, Camperdown, until May 20, 2024. The exhibition is hosted by The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS)

The exhibition includes the finalists and winners of the EQUS 'Quantum Art Competition', plus other selected artworks from entries. Very happy to say, Our Cosmological History is in the selected group. The finalist works and the extra selected works look like a high quality, engaging group of artworks, all responding to EQUS's invitation to "artists to explore quantum science through their medium of choice, drawing inspiration from the competition theme, ‘duality’".

More information about the competition and the exhibition, plus talks and workshops, is available at the EQUS exhibition webpage.

This is the artist's statement I sent when I entered the competition.

‘Our Cosmological History’ is a painting that tries to envisage the universal history of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), and humankind’s increasing reliance upon EMS frequencies for accelerating civilian and military technological needs. The red firecracker-like markings represent the Big Bang, and the ‘birth’ of photons within ten seconds. The dotted wavy lines represent the dual particle-wave nature of photons. I have painted seven wavy lines, from longer waves to shorter waves, to indicate EMS frequencies from radio to gamma waves, all travelling at lightspeed. This visualisation of normally invisible EMS frequencies (except the light spectrum) is augmented by painted symbols for photons (y) and lightspeed (c). A swathe of stars provides a background for a universal cosmic-scape that reveals macro and micro forces. The stars and the painted EMS frequencies appear to continue beyond the painting’s edges. This is my way of visualising that the universe and the EMS are around us, and continue beyond us, including into future history. 

Humankind’s sphere of influence, from Earth to orbiting satellites, is apparent. The pale blue dot (after Sagan) is a focal point. The sphere around the dot-Earth represents the commons where humankind harnesses the lightspeed forces of the EMS to enable connectivity, interconnectivity, operability, and interoperability of a bourgeoning array of civilian and military
technological systems and devices. ‘Our Cosmological History’, painted for EQUS, expresses awe at the wonders of the universe. At the same time, it questions how we harness powerful natural resources in an increasingly connected and volatile world.

Cheers, Kathryn

THE CLOUD IS NOT A CLOUD

 The Cloud is Not a Cloud gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2024

The Cloud - Swarm?

With The Cloud is Not a Cloud I wanted to pose questions about the contemporary 'Cloud' as a weaponisable and weaponised system. I was thinking about swarming technology, pondering whether the techno-Cloud, enabling complex arrays of services and capabilities, could be described as a dexterous swarm with both benign and malign latencies. However, is the techno-Cloud the swarm or the swarm enabler? Or maybe its a swarm that can spawn more swarms? The proliferation of misinformation, disinformation and fake news/images across social media is an example of this conception of swarming. 

Signals

While the techno-Cloud is underpinned by bricks and mortar, for example, buildings housing massive computer infrastructure, relay nodes dotted across the landscape and space, and other tangible devices, I am particularly interested in the invisible infrastructure. Here, I am referring to signals that ensure connectivity, interconnectivity and interoperability of devices and systems. 

Signals carrying codified data and instructions are visualised in The Cloud is Not a Cloud as lines connecting ambiguous looking shapes. Their multiple sharp edges could indicate a not-so-friendly environment, a protective stance, tactical readiness or strategic preparedness. Could The Cloud is Not a Cloud be a visualisation of military preparedness, geopolitical alignments, force posturing? Are we projecting onto the techno-Cloud fears of geo-political instability, and the type of war that needs no physical invasion? 

Red and White

I have used red and white to indicate potentialities, such as, attack, vulnerability, disguise, stealth, blood. I have deliberately implied that the colours could oscillate or merge, depending on politics, technological resilience, or non-resilience. Like many of my paintings, The Cloud is Not a Cloud can be viewed from multiple perspectives - from above, as if you are flying over the sea; from below, as if you are peering through 'clouds' to a blue sky; in front of or behind, as if you are about to walk into a spider's web...

As always, there's a lot more to think about. But, I will leave it to you now...

____________________________

Previous Posts of Interest.

The Cloud is Not a Cloud visually references some other recent paintings where I have painted odd patterns that echo the shapes of airborne drones, munitions, debris. You can see these paintings on these blog links Force Multiplication, Ghost Sky, and Ghost Shadows.

Since 2015 I have painted many paintings that refer to the techno-Cloud. You can search my BLOG by typing the word 'cloud' in the top left box above Art @ Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox or in the 'Search this Blog' box on the right of the post.

NEWS

I am very happy to report that I am now a Dr. 
My PhD was conferred by Curtin University, Western Australia on the 1st December. 

You can access my PhD thesis: 
Drones, Signals, and the techno-Colonisation of Landscape
at Curtin's espace 

Cheers,

Kathryn

  

GHOST SHADOWS

Ghost Shadows Oil on linen 92 x 112 cm 2023

Ghost Shadows is a new painting, inspired by thinking about the Royal Australian Air Force and Boeing collaboration to develop the MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone, previously called the Loyal Wingman drone. I have a number of earlier paintings that also reference the Loyal Wingman/Ghost Bat drone. You can see them in my 2021 online exhibition Wingman (MQ-28 Ghost Bat) Online Exhibition

Ghost Bat

With this new painting I was thinking about the name Ghost Bat, the name of a real Australian bat, applied to a drone. So, that got me thinking about ghosts, bats and shadows, stealth and invisible aspects of contemporary war. I was also thinking about landscape, geographical, technological, military, and other-worldly. As regular readers know I am currently undertaking my creative practice-lead PhD with an examination of increasing military interest in the electromagnetic spectrum. 

I 'see' the technological landscape as mostly an invisible one, a stealthy signalic techno-colonised landscape from Earth to orbiting satellites. My aim, in my work, is to make the invisible 'landscape' visible! Yes, hardware and devices mark and move through our physical environments, but enabling signals are transmitted wirelessly or via discrete cables [eg: undersea internet cables]. I am mostly interested in wireless signaling/transmissions that enable light-speed or near light-speed connectivity, interconnectivity, operability and interoperability of civilian and military systems and devices. 

Shadow or Shadows 

Initially I was going to call the painting Ghost Shadow, but then I decided to make the shadow plural - thus, Ghost Shadows. The plural draws in multiple aspects of drone and robotic technologies - especially the fact that they are nodes in a system. Thinking imaginatively, what kinds of shadows does the militarised techno-system cast? Could the system be a multi-faceted shadow that we don't see - except in my painting? Maybe we should go looking for shadows! If we thought of ourselves as bats, let's lurk in the night, in the dark, using imagination to see things beyond sight. 

Fragmented Force

In  Ghost Shadows a Ghost Bat drone is identified as a fragmented force, a strange craft flying through the sky. This fragmentation 'speaks' to the drone's many capabilities, those disclosed by the developers, and those that have not been disclosed. The fragmentation evident in the whole painting alludes to pixels and the techno-reliance on imaging capabilities for operation, orientation, ISR, and targeting. Yet another interpretation could be that bits of the Ghost Bat drone have been flung into the sky. Has it spawned more bats? Or, has the drone been compromised? The dark large and small fragments might be shadow-indications of more drones or piloted aircraft - after all the Ghost Bat drone has been designed to accompany fighter jets. Thus, is this a scene of a mid-air battle between autonomously flown drones and piloted craft - debris scattered. But, is the debris material, or in an age of accelerating technological development, is it the debris of hopes and dreams?

Lots more to say - but I will leave the painting with you now! What do you think of the red fragments!?

Cheers,

Kathryn

WHERE'S THE BEATING HEART?

Where's the Beating Heart? Oil on linen 112 x 92 cm 2022

Photo: Rob Frith

This new painting relates to my last painting On The Edge of Being 

Human-Machine

In both paintings I visually question the human-machine relationship, including increasing developments and expectations of these relationships. Using a visual ambigramatic [after Douglas Hofstadter] ploy in both paintings, I have painted tree-like patterns as if they are about to merge, or maybe even repel each other. It's your choice to decide! An ambigram can be read, with multiple meanings, in both an upside and downside orientation. But, they can also be read as the same....

The tree-like patterns are those of a natural tree or branching system [roots, vascular, leaves, lines on our palms etc], plus tree-like patterns uses in computer science ie: tree logic, neural networks, chip boards etc. In Where's the Beating Heart? the upper oval represents natural life and systems, and the lower oval represents coded systems and their correlative hardware. Like an ambigram, the painting could be turned the other way - maybe orientation depends on aesthetics, but also beliefs about humanity, technology and the future?

Patterns

I am not a computer scientist, nor am I an arborist, but as an artist I like to look for patterns, and I like to present what I see as provocations to prod questions. Regular readers will know that I have a keen interest in technology, undertaking technical research to inform my work. These readers will also know that my current PhD research examines increasing military interest in the electromagnetic spectrum [EMS - radio, microwave etc frequencies]. Without consistent uncongested or uncontested access to signal-transmitting frequencies in the EMS, much of our contemporary technology would flounder.  

Theatre of War

Both On the Edge of Being and Where's the Beating Heart? have been inspired by my research, particularly my interest in the idea of 'theatre of war', a phrase often used by 19the century General Carl von Clausewitz in his famous tome On War. Clearly the contemporary  'theatre of war' is different to the 19th century idea of 'theatre of war', but if war is seen as a performance, I do think performativity is still a component of war. We now have 'roles' played by technological systems and hardware that are militarised and militarise-able. Militarise-ability of civilian systems/hardware is a key interest of mine ie: connectivity, interconnectivity and interoperability of systems/hardware, are enabled by signals transmitted via EMS frequencies. New modes of war, such as cyber, information, hybrid, and network-centric warfare draw civilian systems into the 'theatre'. One example is the use of social media for information warfare - there are many other examples.

Heart

Where's the Beating Heart? poses questions about human being-ness and technological utility. As autonomous components are embedded into systems, human speed is bypassed. I ask, isn't human speed, the pace at which we work and think, part of our being-ness? This is just one of many questions I ask myself, and embed in my work. The tree-logic pattern 'pulses' with a predominantly red centre of painted conduits. Is this a fake heart? 

There's more to say, but I will leave that to you! 

Cheers, 

Kathryn

 

INTERFACE: BEING

Interface: Being Gouache on paper 56 x 75 cm 2022

 

Interface: Being follows my last painting Interface. And, in my last post I wrote "My head is full of ideas. Interface is a result of thinking about a lot of things. I've been writing and researching for my PhD, and this painting has been inside my head - my imagination - for a few weeks." My PhD research focuses on the increasing interest militaries around the world are paying to the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), as an enabler of technology, a type of fires, a manoeuvre space and a domain. 

This new painting above, Interface: Being has also been inside my head for a while!

Human-Machine
The human-machine relationship is a key area of interest. As the speed of technological operation, enabled by light-speed EMS frequency transmissions, increases across inter-connected and interoperable civilian and military systems, the human being is often seen as a point of delay. I have written about this with regards to recent news that an AI military lawyer tool is under development - Theatre of War: Law   and Theatre of War: Techno-Seduction 

Interface: Being 
Interface: Being is also the result of weeks of research and thinking. Like Interface, this new painting also references Douglas Hofstadter, the technological Cloud, real clouds, AI, binary code (01001000 01010101 01001101 01000001 01001110 instructs the word HUMAN), and questions about what it means to be a human being in the 21st century. 

In this new painting, I introduce and play with the word BEING. 

BEING

TO BE

BEING HUMAN

HUMAN BEING

BEING 01001000 01010101 01001101 01000001 01001110 

01001000 01010101 01001101 01000001 01001110 BEING

HUMAN 01001000 01010101 01001101 01000001 01001110 

Interface is both a noun and a verb, and is used as both a noun and verb in computer science, and also in studies of human beings. 

In a human-machine relationship let's think about what is the interface, and what does the interfacing? Is it code - is it signal connectivity - is it human willingness or excitement (therefore, us) - is it need - maybe money - maybe power - is it speed? What do you think? How are we to BE human beings in a world dominated by accelerating developments in technology?

Painting
My choice of medium - painting - is deliberate. Painting helps me probe questions and pose new questions, without techno-interfaces or techno-interfacing. Painting is not reliant an any EMS-enabled digital or cyber technology, yet this does not preclude critique and study of these technologies. Painting is technologically and operatively detached. Detachment in a world of techno-interfaces and interfacing is a form of critical resistance.  

Cheers,

Kathryn

THEATRE OF WAR: TECHNO-SEDUCTION

Theatre of War: Techno-Seduction Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2022

WAR

Like many others, the war in Ukraine is occupying my mind. The mix of traditional kinetic activity with improvisation across old and new tactics and technologies again raises questions about asymmetric warfare. 

THEATRE OF WAR: TECHNO-SEDUCTION

This new painting, Theatre of War: Techno-Seduction, has a focus on the human. Yes! By presenting everything as an algorithm, even human beings, I pose questions about  technological systems that are interconnected and interoperable. Questions about AI-enabled systems, that reduce or remove human operators are also posed.

For interconnectivity and interoperability to work seamlessly, foundational operative platforms need to be the same or very similar. Hence my use of painted binary code. 

But does homogenisation at any level strengthen resilience or not? Maybe it poses a vulnerability - like pulling out the bottom card of a house of cards, is there risk of collapse. Where does the human being fit in a world of interconnectivity, interoperability and AI-enabled systems? 

So, what have I presented or 'instructed' in algorithmic form?

At the top is SATELLITE. To the left in small zeros and ones is WAR. In the centre, as a circle of code, is MILITARY LAWYER. To the right is DRONE and angled from it is HELLFIRE. To the left of the circle in SURVEILLANCE. The three small circles of code 'instruct' HUMAN - are they warfighters, civilians, friend or foe, victims? The bottom 'instruction' is TARGET. Is the target human or not? If not a human target, destruction of buildings or infrastructure can still cause human fear, suffering and death. 

All these 'instructed' entities are connected by lines that indicate signals, and therefore, reliance on frequencies in electromagnetic spectrum for connectivity and interconnectivity to enable information and data transmission, surveillance capabilities, sensor access, news broadcasting and so on. 

The painting acts as a kind of map.

HUMAN

Despite major advances in militarised and militarise-able technologies that remove many human operators and warfighters from the immediacy of conflict zones, the death and suffering witnessed in places such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and now Ukraine, remind us that human beings remain in the loop, as my circles indicate, as victims. 

And, we must not forget that human beings also start wars. 

_______________________________________________________________

In another recent painting and post Theatre of War: Law I explain the reference to military lawyer.

NEWS

Third Text Article

Thrilled that my article "Night Vision, Ghosts and Data Proxies: Paintings By War Artist Jon Cattapan" has been published online for Third Text, a leading peer reviewed international journal dedicated to the critical analysis of contemporary art in the global field. The hardcopy is forthcoming.

Cattapan was an official Australian war artist in Timor Leste in 2008. Key to his subsequent paintings were his experiences using night vision technology while accompanying Australian Peace Keeping forces on night patrols. The effect of the night vision green entered his paintings in ways that continue to 'speak' to us today. Thus, I analyse Cattapan's paintings through a 'future of war' lens-a future we are now living, nearly 15 yrs later. I argue that although the paintings were inspired by experiences in Timor Leste, the images could relate to the iterative modes of contemporary, and likely future war, ie: grey zone, hybrid, informational, cyber, as well as kinetic warfare.

Cheers,

Kathryn

                                                             

THEATRE OF WAR: TECHNO-COLONISED PLANET

Theatre of War: Techno-Colonised Planet Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2022

 

NEWS

Third Text Article

Thrilled that my article "Night Vision, Ghosts and Data Proxies: Paintings By War Artist Jon Cattapan" has been published online for Third Text, a leading peer reviewed international journal dedicated to the critical analysis of contemporary art in the global field. The hardcopy is forthcoming.

Cattapan was an official Australian war artist in Timor Leste in 2008. Key to his subsequent paintings were his experiences using night vision technology while accompanying Australian Peace Keeping forces on night patrols. The effect of the night vision green entered his paintings in ways that continue to 'speak' to us today. Thus, I analyse Cattapan's paintings through a 'future of war' lens-a future we are now living, nearly 15 yrs later. I argue that although the paintings were inspired by experiences in Timor Leste, the images could relate to the iterative modes of contemporary, and likely future war, ie: grey zone, hybrid, informational, cyber, as well as kinetic warfare.

Theatre of War: Techno-Colonised Planet 

This new painting relates to a few other recent paintings - examples: Theatre of War: Plague Cloud, Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain and Theatre of War: Law

Invitation to 'Fly'

In Theatre of War: Techno-Colonised Planet you are invited to fly, in your imagination, away from Earth. When you are ready, you peer back at the planet from a distance. And, from this distance what patterns become apparent? For me, I see a planet occupied by an insidious fake cloud that extends from Earth to orbiting satellites. The outline of the pale blue dot shimmers like a ghost behind the 'cloud'. This 'cloud' represents the ubiquitous presence of interconnected and interoperable systems, all reliant on access to, and use of, the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). 

But, what if you are not 'flying' at a great distance from Earth? What if you 'fly' in closer? What if this is an image on a computer screen and you have flown through the window of a ground control station where remote operators sit in front of an array of computer screens? What if the white circles are computer graphics indicating techno-territorial occupation? Given that civilian technology and military technology rely on the same conduit and enabler, ie: the EMS - is the fake cloud an indication of dangerous synchronicity and homogeneity of techno-system operation? Does it represent an ever-ready always-on war preparedness, especially when various iterations of contemporary war are increasingly perpetrated via technological devices and systems - grey zone, hybrid, information and cyber warfare.

Whether you are flying at close or far distance -  your imagination is the critical tool. For me, this is how imaginational metaveillance works to become a resistance to the kind of normalised techno-surveillance of the world in which we live. 

As artist and writer James Bridle notes, "Today the cloud is the central metaphor of the internet: a global system of great power and energy that nevertheless retains the aura of something noumenal and numinous, something almost impossible to grasp."* In Theatre of War: Techno-Colonised Planet I have tried to 'grasp it'. My invitation for you to take imaginational flight, is my way of sharing this quest.

  

Cheers,

Kathryn

*James Bridle, The New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future (London: Verso, 2018), 6.

THEATRE OF WAR: DROMO-DOMAIN

 Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain Oil on linen 90 x 100 cm 2021

CLAUSEWITZ

I think this is my 14th or 15th Theatre of War painting. I was inspired to start this ever-growing series by late 18th/early 19th century Prussian General, Carl Von Clausewitz's famous tome On War. He often mentions the term 'theatre of war'. Reading through the text, I get the impression he thought it involved a number of factors, but geography was a central theme. 

I think about what 'theatre of war' might mean in the 21st century, the age of digital and cyber technology, drones, drone swarms, ubiquitous surveillance and increasingly autonomous systems. Regular readers will know I am probably a bit dystopian in my outlook. This is because I 'see' contemporary networked, interconnected and inter-operable technology as an homogenising and standardising force that enables the 'theatre of war' to extend not only beyond geography, but also traditional ideas of military activity and reach.* Because of the shared nature of technological platforms and systems I am particularly concerned about, and interested in, the militarise-ability of civilian technology. Here, increasing military interest in the electromagnetic spectrum [EMS] as an enabler of technology, a type of fires, a manoeuvre space and a domain is a key concern. Why? Because civilian technology also relies upon access to the EMS. Information and cyber warfare, and terms such grey-zone and hybrid warfare, all 'speak' to permeable military-civilian boundaries. I am also interested in the militarisation of imagination, time and speed. So, you can see, my ideas of the contemporary 'theatre of war' encompass almost - maybe all of- everything!

DROMO - SPEED

Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain is a visual spin on Paul Virilio's thoughts on speed and the term he coined, dromology ie: the logic of speed applied to contemporary society. Virilio, in a number of books and articles*, argued and observed that speed and accelerating speeds of technological operation and development play major roles in societal, political and geopolitical stability. As developments in networked and interconnected digital and cyber technologies have accelerated, light-speed [or near light-speed] signal transmissions introduce speed as a necessary advantage for both civilian and military technology. It is commercially, politically and militarily tactical to use speed as an advantage. One of my favourite quotes from Virilio is  "The fact of having reached the light barrier, the speed of light, is a historic event, one which disorients history and also disorients the relation of human beings to the world. If that point is not stressed, then people are being disinformed, they are being lied to. For it has enormous importance. It poses a threat to geopolitics and geostrategy.” (1)

HOW TO VISUALISE SPEED

I have grappled with how to visually convey speed as an overarching dromo-domain that encompasses civilian and military technology in a pervasive and persistent 'theatre of war' that extends from Earth to orbiting satellites. 

In Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain I have repeatedly painted the symbol for light speed ie: c, to form a circle around the Earth. I love how the cs look like the spurs on a spinning cog, and that a sense of speed is created. The Earth is the 'pale blue dot'. This circle of cs represents the major satellite orbiting zones around the Earth. From these orbits to Earth, is our sphere of influence, where the EMS is harnessed for an array of communication, operative and inter-operative civilian and military technological functions. How are we managing this sphere of influence? I 'see' it as a volumetrically occupied and techno-colonised space. 

In Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain the multiple overlapping white circles are indicative of civilian and military activities and domains. Clearly the term dual-use is inadequate in the era of speed, where networking, interconnectivity and interoperability scaffold us all in invisible webs of signals. This is a militarised space - a dromo-domain that enables and cradles more traditional military domains of land, sea and air. It is the meta-domain.

IMAGINATIONAL METAVEILLANCE

The cosmic-like background in Theatre of War: Dromo-Domain continues my quest to stimulate flight, your flight and mine [in imagination], to places where we can gain new perspectives. I call this 'imaginational metaveillance' - a kind of veillance that does not rely on EMS-enabled technology, thus it is untethered from it. The cosmic landscape also alludes to universal history, which includes the history of the EMS. All frequencies in the EMS are made up of photons, traveling in waves at light speed. The photon appeared around 10 seconds after the Big Bang. This kind of cosmological history really gets me thinking about how, in our sphere of influence, are we using a natural universal resource. 

* Paul Virilio and Jean Baudrillard inform my ideas here.

Cheers,

Kathryn

PS. Related recent posts/paintings include:

Theatre of War: Plague Cloud
Theatre of War: Infrared

(1) Paul Virilio, “Red Alert in Cyberspace,” trans. Malcolm Imrie, Radical Philosophy (Nov/Dec 1995): 2.

* Just a small few examples of Virilio's work

Paul Virilio, Speed and Politics, first published 1977.

Paul Virilio, The Original Accident, trans. Julie Rose (2007

Paul Virilio, The Great Accelerator, trans. Julie Rose (2012)

SPECTRUM: ONLINE EXHIBITION

Data Data Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2016

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

Regular readers know that I have been thinking about the increasing interest militaries around the world are paying to the electromagnetic spectrum [EMS], as an enabler of technology, a type of fires, a manoeuvre space and a domain. The fact that EMS is a shared civilian - military resource problematises military desires to dominate, appropriate and ensure access. 

In the techno-world in which we live, we are all reliant on the EMS to enable digital and cyber technologies, to allow networking and interconnectivity, and also interoperability. 

I've been interested in the EMS for some time. 

When I started painting airborne drones in 2015, I also started visualising the normally invisible signals that connect the drones to remote controllers and to GPS satellites. I also visualised sensor detection, targeting and transmission arrays. These paintings were informed by my Master of Philosophy research at the University of Queensland. I completed my M. Phil in 2017. My paintings from 2020 are inspired by my PhD research, Curtin University, Western Australia

ONLINE EXHIBITION

This online exhibition of fifteen paintings tracks my interest in the EMS and my ideas of the 'spectrum warfighter'. This fighter could be human, an enhanced human, a robot, an algorithm, an avatar in a simulated wargame. One question I think about a lot is - how doe we memorialise when the warfighter is no longer human? This question has lead me to another question - how do we memorialise when the warfighter was never alive?

Please click on the hyperlinked titles to read the previous posts for each painting.

Cheers,

Kathryn

Not a Game Gouache and watercolour on paper 57 x 76.5 cm 2016

Space Net Gouache on paper 56 x76 cm 2017

New Star-False Star Oil on linen 97 x 112 cm 2018

Charting the Invisible gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2019

01010111 01000001 01010010 WAR Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2021

Theatre of War-Spectrum Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2021

Spectrum Warfighter Gouache and watercolour on paper 30 x 42 cm 2021

Theatre of War-Domain Dominance Gouache on paper 56x76 cm 2021

Theatre of War-Spectrum Access Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2021

Theatre of War-Infrared Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2021

The Tree Asks, What Can't You See? Gouache on paper 30 42 cm 2021

Theatre of War-Photon Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2021

Spectrum Warfighter 2 Oil on linen 61 x 66 cm 21

Theatre of War - Photons Do Not Care Oil on linen 92 x 112 cm 2021

 

SPECTRUM WARFIGHTER 2: HUMAN, ROBOT, ALGORITHM OR AVATAR?

Spectrum Warfighter 2 Oil on linen 61 x 66 cm 2021

Spectrum warfighters and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
I've got this thing in my head - a picture of a spectrum warfighter. Is it human, is it an enhanced human or is it a robot? The term 'warfighter' can be applied to a living and non-living entity, even an algorithm. The term 'warfighter' is actually a loaded term!

I have painted a few spectrum warfighters recently* - for me, they are entities that use the electromagnetic spectrum [EMS] as a means of fighting wars, in the broadest sense. This could mean as a fixed or moving enabling node in a networked system of interoperable systems and hardware. It could also mean something more, for example, as a disseminator of information or disinformation. It could mean jamming or interrupting an adversary's signals. The spectrum warfighter, whether human or not, is an integral part of contemporary war, in all its iterative and often concurrent manifestations - grey zone, hybrid, cyber. information and kinetic warfare. 

Spectrum Warfighter 2
In my new painting Spectrum Warfighter 2 I have painted VR [virtual reality] goggles that wrap around the warfighter's head. This reflects upon military interest in augmented and integrated visual aides for things like improved situational awareness. Integrated means that the goggles can be, for example, wifi connected to other sensors carried by the warfighter, and also connected to other close or remote warfighters/hardware. Goggles can also be connected to firearms...

 My spectrum warfighter hovers, as if suspended in the sky or space, or maybe its an image on a computer screen? The warfighter's body is not complete. Maybe its torso is a visual metaphor for a system of warfighting, like a logo? Maybe my warfighter is injured, a real or metaphoric casualty? Maybe the warfighter is simply appearing out of a mist? I'll let you wonder on about the possibilities!

Spectrum Warfighting and the Metaverse
My warfighter also has no face or facial features that can help us work out whether it is human, robotic or an avatar. Facial features are obscured by the augmenting goggles, and what might be a balaclava-like hood. Who knows! Your guess is as good as mine!

If my spectrum warfighter is a 'portrait' of an avatar, maybe it is ready for wars in the Metaverse?  

*More Spectrum Warfighters:

Biped and Quadruped Warfighters
Theatre of War: Spectrum Access
Spectrum Warfighting: Invisibility

Cheers,

Kathryn