Completed Painting: '[dc]Victory Machine 01'

'[dc]Victory Machine 01', Acrylics, Paper Collage & Mixed Media on Panel,
400 mm x 400 mm, 2026

'[dc]Victory Machine 01' is the third in my recent trio of small paintings, produced fairly spontaneously in response to the currentsituation in the Middle-East. Unsurprisingly, the war triggered by Trumpo the Clown is far from reaching anything resembling a clear resolution, and has seemingly become one of those 'forever wars' that hubristic American governments have been unable to resist down the years (and which Trump himself stood for election in supposed opposition to). Indeed, one could argue, I suppose, that the perpetual enmity between America/'The West', Israel, and radical Islam (as represented by Iran and its proxies), is the very definition of a forever war. Nevertheless, the news cycle churns on in its default state of attention-deficit (even as the on again - off again - on again  hostilities seem set to crash the entire global economy, along with energy/food/medicine supplies), Trumpo is incapable of staying awake, and I myself feel like I have other artistic fish to fry over the second half of this year. Therefore, this is possibly the last of this little group, for now. Who knows if I'll feel provoked to produce any more? - I'd love to think it might not be necessary... 

Anyway, as any sense of a coherent internal logic behind Trump's gesture war-mongering has never really been evident (Israeli motives may be a little more basic), the narrative essentially devolved into a futile battle over who can claim at least the perception of 'victory' in a world turned upside-down. And the current situation really seems to be one in which all good sense is inverted - given the total impasse all sides claim to be in control of. Trumpo's desperation to claim definitive victory, and an associated end to the conflict (he can no longer hope for a swift conclusion), sees him seemingly concede more and more to a nominally 'losing' side, whilst remaining unable to admit it. Meanwhile, Iran, whilst denuded of much of its original leadership and traditional weaponry - and with much of its infrastructure seriously compromised, has proved itself able to hold the world to economic ransom and demonstrate an ability to subvert any illusory peace 'deal' at will - stripping the American regime of yet more status and credibility in the process. Just as is simultaneously demonstrated in Ukraine and Russia, any clear notion of 'winners' and 'losers' in modern warfare, or of the power dynamics between them, appears much harder to divine of late. No wonder then, that the struggle to control narratives becomes paramount, when events and facts  themselves prove so intransigent. In the context of Iran, can anyone really be surprised that a repressive fundamentalist theocracy might be a match for a narcissistic game-show host when it comes to propagandising? [1.] Perhaps it was always thus - but truly, this feels like the spirit of our age, in all its spectacular delusion.

Analysts are keen to point to this conflict (and to the parallel Russia/Ukraine one) as defining the very nature of 'asymmetric warfare' in the twenty-first century, and so it seems only fitting that images of an Iranian drone and an American fighter jet should take flight across the surface of my painting. The tools each side might employ to gain the upper hand are clearly no longer equivalent in scale, sophistication, or indeed, cost. The degraded field beneath them contains yet even more comprehensive allusions to the idea of 'corruption', as well as fragments of text from Reza Negarestani's 'Cyclonopedia' [2.] (both discussed in my previous post) - along with a barely-discernible mapping of the strategically critical Straits of Hormuz. As before, this painting also employs an element of oily varnish, and multiple weapon-site motifs, for obvious reasons. The latter are somewhat smaller now - but also more numerous, helping to reinforce a slightly greater 'all-over' quality in this painting. If that contributes to a sense of reduced resolution intelligibility - that's perhaps only appropriate.

[1.]:  I note that Iran's recent multi-day funeral demonstrations for its slain Supreme Leader (as reported, at least), appeared to model a scale and supposed unity of purpose only dreamt of in The White House.

[2.]:  Reza Negarestani, 'Cyclonopedia', Melbourne, Aus, re.press, 2008

Completed Painting: '[dc]Petrochemical Machine 01'

'[dc]Petrochemical Machine 01', Acrylics & Mixed-Media on Panel,
400 mm x 400 mm, 2026

Here’s the second of my recent Middle-East war-related paintings, ‘[dc]Petrochemical Machine 01’. Although slightly larger than its predecessor, it’s still pretty modest in scale and  also arrived relatively quickly as the news cycled. Iran’s Kharg Island reappears once again - in slightly more detail this time, meaning we’re still in the world of ‘Deleuzian Cartography’, as far as I’m concerned. Weapons-sight motifs also recur in this one, for obvious reasons.

Of course, the overriding theme here is the importance of oil and other petrochemical products to any discussion of conflict in the Middle-East (or of global politics, economics and trading relations in general, to be honest). None of that is exactly a secret. Whatever other twisted agendas may have sparked this grubby little punch-up (regional hegemony, apocalyptic religious mania, Israeli expansionism, nuclear paranoia, megalomaniacal hubris, macho over-compensation, mortality denial, feigned concern for the oppressed Iranian population - what else have you?) the real story rapidly became how any impediment to the flow of Middle-East oil, gas, fertiliser, etc. effectively equates to a global economic crisis. It’s perfectly consistent with the absurdism of our age that a state supposedly denuded of both military capability and regime leaders within a matter of hours, could subsequently hold the rest of the world hostage, possibly indefinitely, through simple facts of geography. If US threats to obliterate Kharg Island were an early feature of the conflict, it soon became apparent that whoever controls the Straits of Hormuz is the more urgent issue. Cartography, indeed - but I guess reading terrain and interpreting maps is really just the kind of treacherous behaviour one might expect from a devious enemy or nay-saying ‘experts’.

The whole idea of flows, rather than fixable or controllable territory seems key to the current situation, be that flows of liquid oil, flows of commerce and finance, flows of the sea through the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, flows of information and propaganda, or, indeed, flows of energy/desire/becoming in a Deleuzian sense. Indeed, it may be that an appreciation of fluidity (or failure of same) as a quality, is a key differentiator between the assumptions of ‘The West’, and Middle-East Eastern/Persian/Arabian mind-sets.

In relation to this, it’s worth mentioning ‘Cyclonopedia’ [1.], a work of 'theory-fiction' by the Iranian writer and philosopher, Reza Negarestani. Whilst I don’t doubt Negarestani’s intellectual rigour or academic respectability, it’s fair to say that ‘Cyclonopedia’ is so arcane and convoluted a read as to become almost unintelligible, in large part, to the lay reader (or is that just to me?). Indeed, were he to admit that the whole thing is actually just a massive philosophical joke, I wouldn’t be at all surprised. However, it is also one of those baffling works by which the sensation of bafflement actually becomes a strangely pleasurable sensation. Though a complex concoction of global politics, geology, Middle-Eastern studies, oil trade mechanics, post-Deleuzian philosophy, esoteric/occult insights, hyperstitional invention, dollops of satire, and much else besides, Negarestani somehow hints at an alternative, distinctly metaphysical schema for interpreting the region’s pivotal significance in a world lubricated by oil flows.

I won’t attempt any more insightful analysis than that, other than to say that ‘Cyclonopedia’, does at least supply some kind of unofficial account of how we may have got here (yet again), when - let’s face it, none of the standard strategies can claim any greater credibility. If the desert terrain of the Arabian/Persian world might be seen as a cradle of the nomadic desiring engine (‘War Machine’) that Deleuze and Guattari outlined [2.], perhaps the idea of a ‘Petrochemical Machine’ is no more far-fetched a concept - as motivating impulses go. Certainly, it’s fair to say that this latest Middle East conflict only seems to reinforce the sense of oil addiction being the ultimate hit as well as the craving that kills. Ultimately, flows gonna flow - for better or worse.

Given all this, it seemed only fitting that my painting should include some physical component of an oily nature. This appears in the form of polyurethane varnish, tinted with black enamel, which continued to slide down the painting for about 36 hours, before coalescing into the slicks and runnels that now remain. Although I habitually employ a variety of media, the majority tend to be water based, or at least fast-drying. Using the varnish was a reminder that nothing else quite replicates the viscosity of oil-based media, or their slow oxidisation.

In addition to the cartographic, textual and oleaginous elements on show, I’d also draw attention to the apparently pixellated geometric field occupying the painting’s upper section. This is something that has recurred several times throughout my ‘Deleuzian Cartography’ work. I’ve come to think of it largely as a signifier of failing or corrupted memory - both metaphorically, and as it might appear on a screen. However, in the context of these war-related pieces, maybe such motifs could imply other forms of corruption too. Whether that’s the corruption of moral integrity, of international law, of political credibility, of democracy - or purely of the venal kind (such as allows real estate deals to be struck on the side of supposed conflict resolution talks), I’ll leave for you to decide...

[1.]:  Reza Negarestani, 'Cyclonopedia', Melbourne, Aus, re.press, 2008

[2.]:  Particularly in: Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari, 'A Thousand Plateaus, Capitalism and Schizophrenia', (Trans. Brian Massumi), London, Bloomsbury, 1987/2001.

 

'[dc]War Machine 01', Acrylics, Paper Collage & Mixed Media on Panel,
300 mm x 300 mm, 2026

Having spent a relatively long period of time methodically developing my ‘[dc]circuit’ suite of paintings, it felt necessary to throw-out something new rather more spontaneously as spring arrived  - and perhaps, something with a few fewer layers of obscure ‘meaning’. As it transpired, Trumpo the Clown and his handler, Bibi, chose to embark on their absurdist attack on the theocratic dystopia of Iran around the same time (what could possibly go wrong?). Consequently, this little panel emerged fairly rapidly as a straightforward reaction to news events. It should require relatively little explanation, I suspect.

Despite its topicality, this piece still finds a place under the general banner of ‘Deleuzian Cartography’. The cartographic element here represents Kharg Island - Iran’s major oil terminal facility, and one of immense geo-political, economic and strategic significance. The weaponry sight motif is an obvious choice, although there is perhaps a small degree of semantic/semiotic nuance to be garnered from the overlaying of a sight, over a site, and the implications one may have for the other. The whole notion of de/territoralisation is clearly at the forefront of any war scenario in crude geographic terms. Sadly, the infantile hyperbole of ‘obliteration’ or ‘decimation’ casually thrown around by the psychos prosecuting this conflict indicates that they’re unlikely to ever get much further than simply grabbing land/assets, massacring school children and blowing stuff up. Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of constructive deterritorialisation is far more sophisticated and nuanced than they could ever hope to understand, and any hopes for a constructive paradigm shift must remain dim, at best.

Similarly, the idea of a ‘War Machine’ is equally clichéd at first glance. However, D&G’s concept of the same is somewhat less familiar - being concerned with the nomadic imperative to be in constant progress towards renewal and innovation. For them it is the engine that drives their desired-for state of perpetual ‘becoming’. The Machine/impulse only becomes about war per se, once it is captured and formalised by the a state in order to further its own ends - be they driven by apocalyptic faith, psychopathic narcissism, all-consuming  greed, or even just the megalomaniacal need to bolster a political base. Thus is it shifted from a vital force, to one with only catastrophic effects.

Inevitably, one thing leads to another, and so there are already a couple more of these war-related pieces also completed. However, as I type this, some kind of supposed ‘deal’ to end the conflict is being touted in the news media, so perhaps there will no real need to produce any more (at least in the interests of topicality). I guess we’ll see…

'This S(c)eptic Isle': Notional Pride 3

 

All Images: West Leicester, April 2021

"Four people arrested while staging demonstrations in Bristol are to receive apologies and substantial damages from Avon and Somerset police after the force admitted its declaration of a blanket ban on protest was unlawful.

"The apologies, which followed a legal challenge, are thought to be the first time a police force has admitted it misapplied coronavirus powers to ban protests. In a statement agreed with the claimants, the police said the arrests had been made on the basis of a 'misunderstanding of the legal effect of the regulations' and admitted all four 'were unlawfully arrested'." [1.]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/22/bristol-police-to-pay-damages-for-arrest-of-activists-using-covid-powers

[1.]:  Damien Gale,  'Police Admit Protest Ban Under Covid Powers Was Unlawful',  Guardian, 22 April 2021.

All Together Now

 

All Images: Central Leicester, Spring 2021

A tentative easing was offered, but many were, by now, too weary to remember the way back. Irrelevant, anyway - the joy bunkers remained barricaded for the duration.  Reality once met a weak end here - slathered in product and desperation.  Randomised reflection still slid from a gleaming facade, but little in the way of illumination had ever been achieved.  The pointless search was shut down.

Little left to do then, but to observe the familiar rituals of mourning.  A half-hearted paroxysm of grief was enacted for the passing of a half-remembered consort, as gun barrels tilted into icy wind.  A convenient distraction was attempted once more, as the old order clutched on.  A very formal tragedy for the last of a generation.  'A life of service' (but we were never really in this together - were we?)