Behold the world that lies before us – a realm caught in an endless dance of wreckage, where the machinery of war grinds humanity into dust, where leaders stumble like blind prophets through the darkness of their own making. Nations feed their children into the maw of conflict, while the merchants of death count their profits in the shadows, and humanity appears caught in a destructive loop of its own making.
In 2025, we find ourselves trapped in an absurd theater of endless violence, where political actors perform like primitive AI agents recycling the same failed solutions and expecting different results. Our world is being steered by empty vessels masquerading as our representatives. From the Middle East to Eastern Europe, from Sudan to Myanmar, the death toll mounts as political leadership’s creative bankruptcy becomes increasingly apparent.
The numbers tell a devastating story: in the Middle East over tens of thousands of people died since October 2023, over one million casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian war, and millions more displaced in Sudan. The American “War on Terror” alone has claimed 4.5 million lives and displaced 40 million people. Behind each number lies a human life sacrificed on the altar of leadership incompetence.
The puppets of the elites continue to promote militarisation as the solution to every crisis. European politicians advocate for war economies instead of addressing systemic financial issues. The political forces in the Middle East, from Hamas to Hezbollah, from the Houthis in Yemen to the Israeli Religious Zionists, prove themselves to be nothing more than corrupt, power-hungry, war-mongering psychos incapable of imagining alternatives to violence.
Yet the political class, like gambling addicts returning to the same slot machine, continue to bet on military solutions while spouting statistically satisfying, but ultimately hollow, statements about “security” and “peace.”
In this landscape of perpetual destruction, artists and cultural institutions find themselves at a crossroads. Some have taken on the role of witnesses, documenting the horrors of war through their work. Others focus on healing, using art as a therapeutic tool for traumatised communities. Many have turned to deconstructivism, unable to bear the weight of reality.
Many artists report feeling overwhelmed by the weight of current events, questioning the relevance of their work in the face of such devastation. As one Shufu Studio member who wished to remain anonymous noted, “The repetitive loop of violence echoes in our creative process, leaving us searching for meaning amidst the chaos”.
Creativity has become the domain of a shrinking elite, while the masses are fed a diet of algorithmic content and propaganda. Our imagination – that divine gift that sets us apart from machines – has been commodified, reduced to procedures and statistics, while true vision withers on the vine.
How long shall we witness our world being torn apart? How long shall we let the poverty of imagination rule our destiny? We have become prisoners of memory, trapped in cycles of violence that spin like terrible carousels, each revolution bringing us back to the same point of pain.
In a world where leaders function like broken automatons repeating the same destructive patterns, artists must become the true leaders – not through force or coercion, but through inspiration and original thought. We must create works that embrace complexity, that challenge the simplistic narratives used to justify endless war. Most importantly, we must help others imagine futures that exceed the bounds of our current reality.
This is not mere idealism, it is a practical necessity. For if we continue to leave our future in the hands of the creatively bankrupt, we condemn ourselves to more of the same. The choice is clear: we either succumb to the poverty of imagination that plagues our political class, or we rise to create the future they cannot envision. Art has always been humanity’s most powerful tool for imagining better worlds. It’s time we wield it with purpose.
Like the prophets of old who wept for Jerusalem, we weep for our world. Yet we cannot remain in lamentation. Therefore, hear this call: O makers of beauty and seekers of truth! The time has come to break the cycles of destruction. Let us reject the false prophecy that war is inevitable. For just as surely as darkness yields to dawn, so too can the human heart turn from destruction to creation.
Like Moses striking water from stone, we must draw forth visions of peace from the desert of war. Let our art be the staff that parts the seas of hatred, creating paths toward reconciliation. Let every artwork be a window into a better world, every performance a glimpse of what might be, every production a step toward salvation. Rise up, O creators! Let your work be a light in the darkness, a voice in the silence, a bridge across the abyss.
