Secret Codewords of the NSA
VICTORYDANCE
Japanese woodblock (mokuhanga)
6" x 6" (15.24 x 15.24 cm)
The NSA has played a central role in drone killings over the past five years, and the Obama administration has increasingly focused these strikes on Yemen. VICTORYDANCE was a Joint NSA-CIA operation to map the WiFi signals of nearly every major town in Yemen for use in locating targets for drone attacks.
On Dec. 12, 2013 in Radda in southern Yemen, four Hellfire missiles were fired at a wedding procession of 11 vehicles, killing at least 12 people and wounding at least 15 others, one of whom was said to be the bride. My victory dancer is modeled on a photograph of a young Yemeni man dancing the bara'a, or dagger dance, which is performed at traditional weddings in Yemen.
7 applications of color, with blind emboss
Kochi Kozo paper
edition: 20