The latest painting “Portrait of a Drone Hunter" from The 10th E State plunges us into the chiaroscuro of a techno-dystopian reality. We are presented with a young man, a denizen of The 10th E State, transformed into an avatar of rebellion. His helmet and visor, cobbled together from relics of leisure—old gaming gear—become totems of resistance. This is not just a piece of protective gear; it is a declaration, a refashioning of the cast-off trappings of a bygone era into the armament of necessity.
The helmet obscures his identity, yet the eyes that gaze through the makeshift visor seem to burn with purpose. It is as if the figure is a manifestation of the 10th E State's collective will to resist. The drones he hunts are more than mere machines; they are extensions of an oppressive regime, instruments of control that hover and buzz with malevolence. And yet, against the inhuman coldness of the drones, the figure stands as a testament to human ingenuity and resilience.
Harman's painting is a tumult of strokes and textures that seem to vibrate with the hum of unseen rotors, the shadows cast are both literal and metaphorical. Each swath of paint, each juxtaposition of light and dark, crafts a narrative of a community pushed to the brink, where the hunters are as hunted, and where the act of defiance is to retain one's humanity amidst the mechanized tyranny.
