Skip to content

Collateral Damage

collateral-damage

 This is a sort of thrown together abstract piece. Falling as always into the trap of repetition…I must confess I am never really comfortable with this genre. I think abstract art is simply a method of fooling the gullible.

So why give the piece the title “Collateral Damage? Well, the phrase always bothers me. It seems such an exercise in sophistry by those who should or perhaps do know better? I am sure we have all heard about precision weapons and must have seen the videos of laser guided bombs or cruise missiles hitting targets as small as a roof light. It seems very impressive but is it just bollocks?

If these modern weapons are so accurate how come civilians get killed? When it happens, why then must we endure the dreadful exercises in sophistry… The antagonists used “human shields!”…They are “deliberately targeting civilians”…and so on. We have to listen to the consequential paroxysm of breast beating anguish by our elders and betters about the malfeasance of these “villains”. What a lot of nonsense. Propaganda is as always a filthy, contemptuous exercise.

At the moment there is the unfolding medieval horror of the siege of the city of Aleepo. If that wasn’t bad enough we have to endure the ersatz outrage of Americans as they -frothing at the mouth- condemn others for their atrocities. It seems such a hideous exercise in hypocrisy. Recently the United States Air force obliterated a hospital in Afghanistan and according to press reports they even continued to strafe the place after they were inundated with telephone calls and texts from surgeons, charities, the press, etc. on priority secure telephone lines begging them to stop. When confronted…what was their response to this horrifying debacle?  They thought the phone calls were a hoax.

By the insane rules of engagement created by people beneath contempt these casualties were not intentional; it wasn’t an accident, a war crime or an atrocity. No, it was collateral damage. So that is all right then. It must have been such a comfort to the relatives of the patient’s incinerated in intensive care.

The saddest thing I think is it happened, it happens and it will happen ever after.


Collateral Damage
Collateral Damage
Soft Textured Fine Art Paper 310gsm

If you wish to purchase more than 10 copies of this print, please contact me via the contact page to request a quote.