Killing at a Distance

Project Under Development

This project takes Ruskin’s view on the dehumanising impact of modern technologies in his essay on war as a starting point for a research and exhibition programme on the subject of ‘Killing at a Distance’.

Ruskin was deeply concerned with ‘modern’, ‘scientific war’, the ‘chemical and mechanical’ interjection in world history by which scientific progress was bound to ‘new facilities of destruction’. In answer, he turned to the long history of war to consider how his world could rediscover its humanity in combat, and how combatants should conceive of their profession when not fighting face-to-face in the manner of their ancient and medieval predecessors.

This research programme is inspired by Ruskin’s provocation on ‘killing at a distance’ pursued through deep history. It draws from his emphasis on the relationship between art and war and the need for polymathic learning in military practitioners and develops his broader interests in visual technologies and close looking. It explores the interplay between the technologies of art and war, historicity, and moral and legal discourse centred on the question of what it means to kill beyond line of sight.

Project Leads: Dr Sophie Ambler, Centre for War & Diplomacy, and Professor Sandra Kemp, The Ruskin

In partnership with the  Centre for War and Diplomacy, Lancaster University.