I am currently deep in the research and writing phase of my upcoming book, Stories of the Minotaur.  The mysterious face of the terrorist, and the clandestine nature of counter terrorism operations hint at a secret world, one visible only in brief flashes of violence. Often reported as litany of casualties, hijackings and kidnaps, terrorism is really about the narratives that make it seem to have a reach and impact that is well beyond the destruction of a single event.  Using the myth of the Minotaur as an anchoring device, this book will explore the origin story of terrorism with a focus on its cultural and creative expression.  The Minotaur represents blood and violence, a tabooed figure inspiring both fear and curiosity that embodies human kind’s darkest impulses. The figure of the Minotaur also inspired artists like Picasso, writers like Italo Calvino and filmmakers like Fassbinder. Within the cultural responses to terrorism are entry points into its hidden depths,the hidden world of terrorism, stories from the borderlands between peace and violence, an unexplored territory where art and culture confront violence and its meanings.

As well as a writer, I am also an artist and information visualisation expert. As part of writing Stories of the Minotaur, I am developing a unique visual language for the book, drawing inspiration from ancient scriptural texts from the Byzantine and Catholic calligraphers and manuscript makers. This aesthetic, drawn from my deep love of the calligraphers, artisans, and monastics who have shaped a world that is both utterly beautiful and deeply insightful, will give me a visual language for complex geopolitical topics and the violence of terrorism. This could be a timeline of terror waves, which will visually chart major shifts in terrorism, highlighting how groups like the Red Army Brigade, the IRA, Irgun, Levi, PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, and even the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) evolved. It could be an infographic that illustrates the networks of shared ideologies of Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah or the mass slaughter of Assyrian Christians and the impact this had on the Orthodox Churches approach to geopolitical intelligence.

I will be using my Instagram as a Researchers Notebook to craft this visual language and share fascinating snippets from my research inside the Minotaur’s Labyrinth.

Stay tuned for more updates as this project unfolds.