“A Partial Survey of Cinematic Warfare” (2018 - ongoing) is an ongoing project consisting of a gradually-expanding collection of prop weapons used in the production of films set in what can be described as neo-historical settings: Period films set in actual or fictitious pasts, whose narratives typically blur the lines of historical context and accuracy. The work considers the film industry’s tendency to flatten/distort historical frameworks, often privileging a Eurocentric construction of history that marginalizes other cultures—while framing this tendency through the industry’s ongoing fixation with violence. A Partial Survey is part of a larger recent inquiry into the complex production systems of mainstream cinema, which taken together can be regarded as a kind of rendering engine for the production and policing of culturally-informed fears and desires.
In its current state, the work includes prop weapons used in the production of such films as Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, Troy, King Arthur, Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia, and others. Each prop weapon has its own Certificate of Authenticity issued by the auction houses from which they were obtained.