Image Laundering

A War In-Between

Authors

  • Katya Sivers Winchester School of Art

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/aprja.v14i1.160272

Keywords:

image laundering, censorship, Ukraine, Russia, media manipulation, war, digital fabrication, hyper-aesthetics, hyperaesthesia, void

Abstract

This essay examines the layered structure of digital images in the context of the war in Ukraine, with a focus on how foregrounds and backgrounds are visually and conceptually manipulated to shape perception. It explores how digital media technologies enable the censorship, fabrication, and weaponization of images, blurring the line between reality and fiction. Drawing on historical visual strategies from Soviet Russia and contemporary practices in Russian state media, the essay traces how power operates through what is shown, hidden, or erased. It highlights the role of computer graphics and social media in the hyper-aestheticization of conflict.

Author Biography

Katya Sivers, Winchester School of Art

Katya Sivers is a London-based artist and researcher focusing on digital visual regimes and their operation through aesthetic and technological layering in the context of militarised visual culture. She is a PhD researcher at Winchester School of Art.

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Published

2025-10-09

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2025): Everything Is A Matter Of Distance

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Katya Sivers

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