Secret Codewords of the NSA
HERCULES
Japanese woodblock (mokuhanga)
6" x 6" (15.24 x 15.24 cm)
H is for hercules, which is the code name for a CIA-operated terrorism database. Hercules is also a constellation, a shape usually illustrated by connecting the star-dots.
After 9/11, the Bush administration and intelligence agencies were criticized for having all the information they needed to uncover the 9/11 attacks (especially the "Bin Laden Determined to Strike" memo) but failing to "connect the dots." Their response was to collect even more dots, which they continue to do.
Five applications of color, with blind emboss
Kochi Kozo paper
edition: 20