Consuming conflict: Militainment, desire and virtual reality in contemporary art

This research project used VR technologies in a contemporary art practice to creatively and critically investigate military-themed entertainment (militainment). The project culminated in a series of VR art installations that reinterpreted militaristic video games, films, and histories to question their influence on both the artist-researcher as well as broader contemporary culture.

Although VR technology has been present in contemporary art for decades, its relationship to discourses of militainment and histories of armed conflict remains under-explored in a creative practice research context. This project utilised auto-ethnography and experimental creative practice to explore an affective relationship with these discourses; generating new creative responses to the pervasive social influence of military screen-culture.