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 Inception Human rights violations and onlyfans streamers, unboxing and sniping, #pewpew and #militarycurves, war and ahegao.

Concept and design: Tommaso Campagna, Noura Tafeche Video editing: Tommaso Campagna

Published by The Institute of Network Cultures and Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana in the framework of the project .expub

Amsterdam, December 2024