Heba Y Amin's 'The General Stork' Examines Surveillance in the Middle East

Released in September 2020 by Sternberg Press, Heba Y Amin's 'The General Stork' examines the 2013 apprehension of a migrating white stork named Menes by Egyptian officials, who suspected it of spying. Equipped with a tracking device from Nature Conservation Egypt, the stork was eventually freed but declined to fly, ultimately being caught and consumed by locals. Cairo-born artist and researcher Amin highlights a region plagued by skepticism towards emotionless machines operated by Western powers, which fosters harmful misconceptions. Contributions from Adam Harvey, Adel Iskandar, Haitham Mossad, and Laura Poitras delve into drones, bombing, and land surveying as forms of advanced conquest. The book, priced at $15.00, combines drone theory with interviews, politics, and archival content, challenging perceptions of the Middle East as shaped by distant technology.