war on terror

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this limited edition print marked the 12 year anniversary of the ongoing and vague global war on terror with a limited edition run of 12 (printed in 2013). this war continues, over three years later. awareness is the first step to accepting that we are all a part of the global community.

as part of the response to the september 11th attacks, the war on terror was officially started on 07 october 2001 when the us and british forces initiated air strikes in kabul, afghanistan, in an attempt to seek out and destroy any al-qaeda fighters or affiliates. this expansive and vague war includes illegal acts of war initiated by the united states and its allies, covert operations and targeted killings by-way-of drone attacks. the us is actively bombing at least seven locations with drones under the guise of the war on terror. information on all of these actions is murky as the us government is allowed to do much of this in secret since congress passed the authorization for use of military force (aumf) which gave sweeping powers to the executive branch to initiate attacks on those deemed responsible for the 9-11 attacks. unfortunately this act, though intended to be temporary, is still in use today and gives the president of the united states the ability to go to war with any enemy, declared or undeclared, including us citizens. under our carefully designed system of checks and balances, the us congress is the only body of government that is legally allowed to declare war.

awareness is the first step. action is the next. find out where your representatives stand on war. write to them. write letters-to-the-editor in your local papers. come together and discuss plans of action and alternatives to endless war. lastly, protest. our bodies may be our last stand against the atrocities that are being inflected around the world by our government in the name of freedom and so-called ‘democracy’.

war on terror, 2013 was created using lithography and silkscreen. the flat was produced using a photographic litho plate, rolled with mixed metallic grey ink. the text is screenprinted and “dropped” eight times to give it more dimension.

war on terror, 2013, is included in the collections of madison art collection / JMU in harrisonburg, virginia; umpqua community college in roseburg, oregon; the center for the study of political graphics in los angeles, california; and the interference archive in brooklyn, new york.