The New American Century Project
An on-going body of work inspired by the "War on Terror" (begun in 2004)

As a Vietnam Era deserter from the U.S. Army Tobey C. Anderson holds a vested interest in contemporary war.   He has looked to the media since 9/11 as inspiration for the salient details of The New American Century Project, an on-going body of work begun in 2004.   Aware of the gaps between the images of the war seen through the media and the actual war itself, Anderson casts a new estranging light on the subject of “The War on Terror”.

Portrayed in the RBG colours of the video screen from which the images were appropriated, the dead are lined up and gridded off in a darkened venue.   This grid brings a systematic and solemn order to the disorder and chaos of the war.   The work does not encourage viewers to impose their own politics onto the people and events portrayed. Instead, it upsets the balance of right and wrong and takes us to the core of humanity. Melancholic, but not nostalgic, this work creates a void.

The loss is experienced on all levels: the loss of family and innocence, the loss of power, and of faith, but most importantly, the loss of humanity.   This reclassification of the dead and wounded is not an attempt to memorialize as in the pictorial halls of fame, but to commemorate the personal pain and collective loss.   To avoid sentimentality, Anderson deliberately undercuts these emotionally charged images with sweeping brush strokes, graphic lines, and florescent paints. Reminiscent of the glow of the television, the aura evokes a haunting, unnatural tension.   Using the language of the media as a tool and influenced by night vision technology, Anderson exposes the cultural vacuum surrounding the “War on Terror”.

This installation is illuminated with black light in a dimly lit room.   The individuals portrayed are appropriated from the Internet and media.   Media and Internet images have been etched into our consciousness from as early as the apocalyptic morning of September 11th and the “shock and awe” bombardment of Baghdad.   Although the paintings reveal the popular culture from which they are borrowed, they reclaim and heighten the loss and horror of the destruction.

Carolyn Wren

St. Catharines, 2008

In addition to the on-going New American Century Project I work on other projects and commissions.  Most recently I have developed a relationship with the artists of the Cultural Factory "Luis Diaz Oduardo" in Santiago de Cuba and developed an exchange programme with CRAM.  I have been an Artist-in-Residence (May-June 2009) and created work specifically during my residencies, for exchange shows, and in response to my experiences in Cuba.  Alan Flint and I have collaborated on residencies and an exhibition at CRAM (June 2009).