Kawayoku, a hybrid research area, explores the intersections of cuteness culture, digital warfare and the aestheticisation of violence in an era of semiotic ambiguity and post-truth. From the fetishisation of Weapons Grade Waifus and anthropomorphic warships in games like Azur Lane to the “Israeli” Defense Forces’ TikTok strategies, the essay reveals how cuteness and entertainment serve as tools of domestication, converging state-nationalism with the impish, and the uniform with the algorithm.
Noura Tafeche is a visual artist and independent researcher with a focus on net.art and radical entertainment. Her research delves into phenomena related to online visual cultures, aestheticisation of violence on digital platforms, linguistic experimentation and visual representation
of speculative imaginaries.
Colophon
Noura Tafeche
The Kawayoku Tales: Aestheticisation of Violence in Military, Gaming, Social Media Cultures and Other Stories
PostScriptUM #51
Series edited by Janez Fakin Janša
Publisher: Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
Represented by: Marcela Okretič
Editorial assistant: Rok Kranjc
Proofreading: Miha Šuštar
Design: Federico Antonini
Layout: Sonja Grdina
Cover image: Noura Tafeche’s 2024 collage based on images from Azur Lane, licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA: Dace, illustrated by 梦咲枫; Monarch, illustrated by Liduke; Juno, illustrated by 梦咲枫; screenshot of a “fleet build” by Reddit user niteshumo57
© Aksioma | All text and image rights reserved by their respective authors
Ljubljana, August 2024
Published in the frame of the project .expub funded by the European Union.
https://networkcultures.org/expub
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not
necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education
and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor
EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Additionally supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Ljubljana.
This publication expands on the video essay published by the Institute of Network Cultures in THE VOID on 26 September 2023. https://networkcultures.org/void/2023/09/26/kawayoku-inception/