The project Landscapes of Absence explores ethical issues around the use of ISIS propaganda images within the media. In particular, the project examines the use of propaganda images in the absence of reliable and journalistically objective images from the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Islamic State since the brutal beheadings of western journalists and aid workers made it too dangerous to report from areas under ISIS control. The project uses images drawn from eight beheading incidents disseminated through ISIS media outlets. The work erases the dehumanized image, leaving only the landscape and the absence of image as a metaphor for the larger issue of the absence of reliable reporting. The project includes a series of 22.5”x30” print works, large landscape mural prints, single-channel video works, and a print publication with information about the project.
Documents
Landscapes of Absence Exhibition Fact Sheet (PDF)
Landscapes_of_Absence_(2016 Booklet) (PDF)
Landscapes of Absence (2016 Project Poster) (PDF)
Landscapes of Absence (22″x30″ Descriptive Print Series) (PDF)
Video
Cut: [The Sea Is All That Remains], Single Channel Video – Color/Sound, Total Running Time – 05:33
Brandon Bauer 
One response to “Landscapes of Absence”
[…] recently wrote an essay about my Landscapes of Absence project that has been published in the new book Critical Digital Making in Art Education edited by […]