“Discourse travels in violence-shaped containers because that's what moves at the velocity we've optimised for. Social media trained this communication style—maximum velocity, maximum impact, threat displays rewarded. Then it migrated: physical violence as medium. The medium and message have fused.”
Built August 2024 whilst assassination attempt footage saturated every screen. Not afterwards during reflection—immediately, during the loop. Media infrastructure forcing its way into workshop as lived condition I couldn't escape professionally or personally.
Same week: messages inscribed on bullets. Healthcare CEO shooter's casings engraved "deny, delay, depose." Christchurch gunman's weapon covered in references. Manifestos on rifles. Violence operating as message delivery system, amplified through social and mainstream media infrastructure. Fast, shocking, cuts through noise. Gets attention, spreads rapidly.
Purpose-built lamp in rifle geometry. Plywood body with steel rod barrel, USB-powered LED where muzzle points. Red painted stock, natural wood construction, recognisably weapon-shaped. Never a gun—illumination device demonstrating discourse velocity through violence-shaped containers.
THE TRANSMISSION PATTERN
Recognition during LED calibration: Infrastructure optimised for engagement produces engagement-optimised communication. That optimisation rewards velocity, shock, conflict. Violence moves fast, shocks reliably, generates attention and engagement metrics. So discourse adopts violence geometry—not because violence persuades but because violence transmits at the velocity infrastructure rewards and amplifies.
Messages delivered at bullet speed, with bullet force, through systems optimised for maximum impact and spread. Metaphorical bullets (threat displays) and literal bullets (inscribed casings) amplified with equal effectiveness. Collateral damage becomes part of delivery system. Mainstream media amplifies further—sensational, dramatic, effective at getting attention.
Shock fades as we normalise, but transmission effectiveness remains. Method persists.
The mockup embodies this pattern: violence-shaped discourse transmits effectively, gets amplified, becomes normalised, continues. Infrastructure rewards this transmission velocity whether bullets are metaphorical or literal.
"The mockup embodies this pattern: violence-shaped discourse transmits effectively, gets amplified, becomes normalised, continues. Infrastructure rewards this transmission velocity whether bullets are metaphorical or literal. The medium shapes what can be transmitted."
HOLLOW BARREL METHODOLOGY
Critical design decision: hollow barrel as methodology. The distance between what violence apparatus could do and what illumination provides demonstrates the pattern—both transmit, both point forward, one destroys whilst one reveals. Same infrastructure amplifies both.
What traditionally channels lethal projectiles now channels only light. Same consumer electronics infrastructure (USB battery, visible on stock) that amplifies violence-as-communication across platforms powers this illumination.
McLuhan's "medium is message" materialised: the medium shapes what can be transmitted. Infrastructure that promised enlightenment discourse now powers weapon-shaped lamp demonstrating how discourse operates through violence-shaped containers.
Built during saturation loop because timing matters—material response whilst immersed in condition being demonstrated, not commentary from safe distance. Light points where barrel points—indicator showing how transmission operates now, not prescribing how it should work.
Materials: Plywood body with precision cutouts, steel rod barrel assembly, LED bulb, INIU 10,000mAh USB battery, museum-grade stand
Dimensions: 92cm long, 1.8kg
Barrel Construction: Hollow steel rod assembly, never designed to shoot. Recognisable weapon geometry achieved through careful proportion—92cm length registers as rifle-scale. Red painted stock contrasts with natural wood body.
Power System: INIU 10,000mAh USB battery mounted visibly on stock. Consumer electronics infrastructure powers LED positioned where barrel points forward. Cable routing exposed, hardware store fasteners visible—honest construction for honest demonstration.
Light Output: Warm LED spectrum, constant intensity. Points one direction only—where barrel points.
Display Configuration: Museum-grade stand positions muzzle light at eye level from 2 metres. Weight (1.8kg) registers as serious object whilst remaining non-weaponised viewing experience. Everything visible: construction method, wiring, power source.
Built: July 2024 during assassination attempt media saturation—timing proved the point: not analytical distance but material recognition whilst condition operates.
Status: Fully operational lamp. Primary function complete: pattern materialised, infrastructure embodied. The observation ahead, velocity persisting, loop continuing.
Context in Series
Fifth piece (#5 of 12), completing Complicity phase. Following Ghetto Blaster Mouse's self-implication, examines how infrastructure shapes transmission regardless of maker position.
Built during assassination attempt media saturation—material response whilst immersed in condition being demonstrated. Violence-shaped lamp proves discourse operates through weapon geometry whether bullets metaphorical or literal.
Transitions toward Powerlessness phase: recognition that observation mechanisms operate beyond individual complicity. Not just "I am complicit" (Mouse), but "infrastructure determines transmission patterns regardless of individual intent."
Infrastructure optimised for engagement produces engagement-optimised communication. The pattern persists because it works at transmission. The velocity continues. The loop amplifies. Sets up Proto Pistols' examination of geographic powerlessness.