the last operator

Practice

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1:41 scale weathered shipping container

I’ve always enjoyed creative problem solving, especially when it come to using tools and techniques in the studio. I also think it’s important to create space to experiment and practice new ways of making. I’ve been wanting to practice my rust and chipping on something for a while. I’ve really only applied in to small isolated areas in my miniatures. I’ve also been looking to include some more saturated colors in my recent work. This shipping container was the perfect place to practice and to implement these techniques. Not to mention the real wold context that shipping containers belong to. I would imagine that many of the containers on the ships stranded in the waters of the middle east near Iran are corroding rapidly in the salty air. I’ve now printed out a few much smaller that I plan to use in the prototype version of The Last Operator board game. I’ll continue to practice my painting of them and maybe even include some numbers or graffiti.

Neo-Luddite Revelations

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The Last Operator III, The Sunsetting of the Human in the Loop (Neo-Luddite Revelations).

Miniature Landscape 2026

Back in 2006 when I was writing my graduate thesis about drone, surveillance and autonomous systems I knew I could see the future. The fact that technology would eventually change our existence in ways we could not predict was clear to me. Now 20 years later that video of the future is reality. Every current global conflict, from Ukraine to the Middle East and beyond, involves drones on all sides. Thousands of videos are being given to artificial intelligence to train its ability to be used to autonomously choose targets for devastating drone and missile strikes. We are living in the time of the ruination of our perception. Now is the time to embrace the values of the Neo-Luddites. The sunsetting of the human in the loop has begun, where we end up only time will tell.

The Last Operator II

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The Last Operator II, posable 6in figure with accessories(AR goggles, drone controller, AK-47, laptop, Eternal Vision uniform, EMP grenades and propaganda poster).

The Last Operator II figure posed on vitrine stand with ammo crate.

Accessories detail view

mysterious signals

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Intercept Transmission, digital illustration with 3d printing, 2024

For close to 50 years there have been mysterious signals emitting from areas within the former Soviet Union. There is much speculation as to the exact purpose of the signals. Some have been given specific names such as, The Buzzer, The Pip and The Squeaky wheel. Some of the stations have been located and identified. UVB-76 is one of these stations, still transmitting after having moved locations as recently as 2010. Most of what can be heard on the transmissions could be considered mechanical sounds, however there are reoccurring coded messages and the occasional voices speaking Russian. The theories of what these signals really are range from far fetched threats to hoaxes and accidents. The potential consequences of these signals may never be fully understood. Whatever the intention, it is clear that the manipulation of signals and frequencies only continues to increase globally. Currently there is something interfering with or jamming GPS signals in Eastern Europe. It has had a direct effect on civilian air travel in multiple nations. It is known that this jamming signal is coming from within the Russian territory of Kaliningrad. Take a look at these articles in POLITICO and Air & Space Force to learn more.

studio update

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Here are a couple of things I’m currently working on in the studio. Both represent some long term ideas coming together with many different mediums with the end goal of telling more stories about an envisioned dystopian future. I’ve been wanting to make a container for one of the Eternal Vision drone minis for some time. This first version came together well and has inspired some upgrades to the next version… I’ve also started a short book with text and images that showcases The Last Operator diorama. Below is an image from the book.

Endless Ocean Drone Container, laser cut plywood box with magnet closure for 3d printed figure.

 

The Last Operator, mixed media with 3D printing, 9 x 6 x 7 inches, 2024

Photographed with printed backdrop