Data Does Not Die
Data Does Not Die digital imaging on canvas 36" X 24" 2017
All warfare is fundamentally dehumanizing, however telematic warfare raises this to new levels. Data Does Not Die is meant to draw attention to the fact that there are real people on the other end of the data stream. Conducting drone surveillance is like watching a football game through a soda straw. This is not a panoptic all-seeing overview. Not only is the scope and nature of information severally limited by the visualizing and transmission apparatus, but to observe in this way is to already engage in a a process of targeting even before one has identified wether or not there is a legitimate target in the surveilled zone. Seeing by drone is targeting, and since 2001 when the Predators first became armed, its not a question of "If looks could kill." Looks can kill, its just a question of when.
This picture was taken in Yemen. Both the Pentagon and CIA have carried out strikes in Yemen from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti and from an unidentified base in Saudi Arabia. Total drone strikes since 2011- 144 to 165 with between 601 to 871 killed.