"NO IMAGE"

At first glance, the work might be mistaken for something abstract, and at times, serene. In reality, these images are screenshots gleaned from drone footage released weekly by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Often slickly edited into fast-paced montages, the footage is set to pulsing trap beats, thrashing rock music, or epic cinematic scores. Naturally, like all propaganda, it aims to position its creator as an unstoppable, dominating force. To an outside observer, however, it plays more like A Clockwork Orange’s "Ludovico Technique" - a surreal display where images of violence and destruction unfold parallel to upbeat, joyous music. Each time a drone collides with its target, whether a Ukrainian soldier, vehicle, or piece of infrastructure, the footage abruptly halts, and the words “No Image” flash across the screen for a split second. While this is merely the system's default message upon losing signal, there is an image: a frozen, final frame capturing what is potentially someone's last moment on Earth. While the text claims "No Image" for us as viewers, we are still staring right at it. But for the target, presuming they are killed in the blast, there really is "No Image." Forced to imagine the unfilmed horror of the aftermath, a stark new imagery takes root in our minds. Ultimately, the "No Image" screen becomes, paradoxically, the most vivid picture of all.