U.A.V. is a reinterpretation of drones as a means of counter-institutional practice, subverting them from their military and repressive foundations and uses. Drawing on the rich counter-cultural history of graffiti and street art, U.A.V. offers an ecosystem that facilitates performative expression within an increasingly surveilled and restricted society. Through this work, the artists provide a tool of protest for those who wish to challenge dominant power, using an open-source approach that lowers the technical and discursive barriers associated with these technologies. For the public, U.A.V. acts as a portable, ready-to-use toolkit: participants are invited, via a tablet interface, to propose drawings and intervention sites, which are then autonomously spray-painted by the U.A.V. In doing so, everyone contributes to a corpus of potential counter-cultural forms of expression that can be reappropriated and remixed by future users of the work, thereby participating in the evolution of its impact.

‍

U.A.V. is a reinterpretation of drones as a means of counter-institutional practice, subverting them from their military and surveillance roots and current uses. Relying on the storied counter-cultural power of graffiti and street art, U.A.V. builds an ecosystem to power performative expression within an ever-more surveilled and restricted society. Through this work, the artists offer a tool of contestation to those who wish to counter dominant power, using an open-source approach to lower the technical and discursive barriers associated with it. To the audience, U.A.V. proposes a ready-to-use, transportable toolkit, inviting participants to suggest drawings and locations of interest via a tablet interface, which are then autonomously spray-painted by the U.A.V. In doing so, the participant also contributes to a corpus of potential counter-cultural expression, re-appropriable and remixable for future users of the work, contributing to its evolving impact.

‍