Tara K Daly

I began this portrait series at the same as "saints." The opposition in the two world views and investments are poles that continue to fascinate, inspire and depress me.

In juxtaposition to the portrait series “Saints,” the series of ceramic portraits “Kilotons” represent the pinnacle of human invention, collaboration, and treasure brutally misused. The military’s documentation of atomic bomb tests has been previously interpreted by artists like Bruce Conner and Micheal Light in haunting ways. “Kilotons” use the same source materials as the references for individual portraits of specific detonations.

Between 7-16-1945 and 11-4-1962 the USA and the USSR performed a combined total of 423 nuclear tests by detonating atomic bombs in the oceans, lands and atmosphere.

After the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed in late 1963 nuclear testing went underground. The U.S.A. detonated a further 1149 bombs (until 1992), and the U.S.S.R exploded another 969 (until 1990) atomic bombs into the Earth .

There were approximately 14,900 nuclear warheads in nine nations' arsenals in 2017. 7,000 belong to Russia, 6,800 belong to the U.S., France has the next highest number with 300.