3D Printed Drones, Metal Structure, 235 x 350cm
Alexander Calder’s mobile structures represent an icon of the art world, found in almost every major art institution worldwide. Another icon, arms manufacturing, is far less known or spoken about. Al-Arashi confronts the tension between a young Arab artist’s ambitions of inclusitivity while simultaneously holding knowledge of the blood money behind it which continuously fuels war efforts in her ancestral homelands.
Using 3-D printed scale models of the MQ-9 Reaper, an American combat drone often used for combat and surveillance in Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, Al-Arashi replicates the dreamy and iconic flying works of Calder to remind viewers of the problematic ties behind the arts industry and arms productions.