Nicholas Constant

Exploring the evolution of the battlefield and various forms of distance, Predator/Protector contemplates particular developments that may change the future of warfare (UAV/drone warfare) and what this means not just for the victim but the perpetrators as well. Using Sontag’s ideas of how war imagery on TV and internet distance us further from the actual happenings as we relate these scenes to the cinematic, Predator/Protector attempts to combat this by showing that these issues materialise and take action from our space and in our time. Adopting a similar aesthetic to that of British landscape painters then directing the camera towards the romanticised landscape and the all too common industrial estates, the project aims to contrast these idealistic and unintrusive views with the reality of what is taking place in these locations to show that they are part of the ever-expanding ‘battlespace’ in the information age. These images are combined with representations of aspects which cannot be seen from the public eye (the drones themselves and the operating rooms) this then shows interesting parallels that would not be achievable photographing the actual subjects under investigation. 

Predator/Protector is the name of the new British drone where the name is being changed from Predator to Protector.