Robert Wiens has been creating socially motivated works that question ideas of power and representation for many years. By exposing the ease with which images on film can be manipulated, Wiens’ Desert Jet examines the role of the mass media, especially television, in shaping public consensus and politic will, and thus geopolitical reality. What looks like a photograph of a television screen showing an F-15 fighter during the Gulf War, is, in fact, a photograph of a video of a carefully staged model built by the artist. The power of the television media to affect public opinion was demonstrated by the reporting during the 1991 Gulf War. By controlling the images made available to the public and presenting a sanitized view of the battle, it was possible to ensure widespread American support for the war. Wien’s analysis of these concerns was informed by his reading of Douglas Kellner’s 1992 book, The Persian Gulf TV War.
This photograph and the related installation were exhibited at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in 1996.

Robert Weins was born in Leamington, Ontario. He studied at the New School of Art, Toronto and presently lives and works in Picton, Ontario.