C / S / TS

This print is derived from the leak of classified documents by 21 year old Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Tiexeira, who over the course of 2022 and 2023 leaked an estimated 64 documents onto the gaming chat service Discord. Tiexeira is believed to have done so to win disputes on the server, settling arguments with other adolescent users by leveraging his access to top secret information.

Accessed by the artist, these documents related to the specifics of equipment being sent to Ukraine, as well as the disposition of the United States fleet in regard to the defense of Taiwan, amongst other topics. Contained were 225 markings denoting the documents as classified, ranging from Confidential, Secret, to Top Secret. These were the glyphs that when seen, elevated the information within to that of near sacred importance. This aura of secrecy and the glyphs that bestow it manifested as a curse upon the documents, as when shared publicly Tiexeira found out that they had the ability to manifest FBI helicopters and SWAT teams.

Reproduced as they appeared in the leaked photos, C/S/TS displays all 225 classified markings.

2023 - Lino print on paper - 9”x12”, edition of 64

NBC Article on the incident [FBI arrests 21-year-old Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking classified documents]

Documents accessed via [Distributed Denial of Secrets]