Imaginational Metaveillance, Creative Painting Practice, and the Airborne Drone: A Visual Essay

In this chapter, a visual essay, I discuss my creative painting practice, and my idea of imaginational metaveillance. These are discussed in reference to a selection of paintings that depict airborne civilian and military drones, or indications of their presence. I focus on several issues, for example, the militarise-ability of civilian technology, due to shared civilian-military reliance on access to uncontested and uncongested frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). The use of civilian airborne drones in the Ukrainian war is a clear example of the militarise-ability of civilian technology. Here, EMS-enabled speed, time, interconnectivity and interoperability are key considerations. This visual essay reflects on how these considerations and issues present challenges for painted representation. The essay also reflects on how these creative challenges, combined with research, can stimulate insights into contemporary technology and war. Imaginational metaveillance is presented as a critical and creative method of enquiry and wonder.