Image from http://notabugsplat.com/. Click here to go to the website.

A group of Pakistani artists have come up with an ingenious idea to remind American drone operators that children could also be a target of their attacks. The project, called #NotABugSplat, has released this picture which shows the face of a girl. The picture has been taken from a helicopter.

A “bug splat,” according to Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, is a term which American pilots use to refer to how victims look when seen through video cameras.  #NotABugSplat’s website says,

“To challenge this insensitivity as well as raise awareness of civilian casualties, an artist collective installed a massive portrait facing up in the heavily bombed Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa region of Pakistan, where drone attacks regularly occur. Now, when viewed by a drone camera, what an operator sees on his screen is not an anonymous dot on the landscape, but an innocent child victim’s face.”

Artists have also designed the portrait in such a manner that it is registered by satellites and becomes a part of geographical maps. According to the website “The child featured in the poster is nameless, but … lost both her parents and two young siblings in a drone attack. ”

Twitter is abuzz with accolades for the project. Rani Khalek says:

Giant art installation in Pakistan tells drone operators that ppl down below are #NotABugSplat http://t.co/Fbn6mciw9F pic.twitter.com/alvd2mashK

— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) April 7, 2014

 

David Steven claims that this photograph may be the original version for the artists’ portrait.

Think this is original of the photo used in Pakistan’s #NotABugSplat campaign against drones http://t.co/ui2t2KVrUo pic.twitter.com/ATuhiYYwLL

— David Steven (@davidsteven) April 6, 2014

The project’s artists made use of the Inside Out project by artist JR, whose work is about raising questions. The Foundation for Fundamental Rights has helped in launching the project.

Compilation: Manasi Gopalakrishnan