Defender #2, 2010 by Sean M. Eno

There's something inherently frightening and uneasy about the world Contender Sean M. Eno created in his series Defenders. The massive, stationary watch posts immediately convey a foreboding sense of militaristic authoritarianism, and the viewer's first questions are likely: What are those things? And what is their purpose? Big Brother is watching you, indeed.

The futuristic structures are intimidating both in their architecture—seemingly impenetrable fortresses—and in their positioning—above you, over you, looking down on you at all times.

Defender #1, 2010 by Sean M. Eno

Scarier still is the unspecified reasoning behind their presence. What led the government to create these "sentinels," as Eno calls them? What kind of societal upheaval or life-altering event prompted their necessity?

Defender #3, 2010 by Sean M. Eno

In his artist statement, Eno explains:

We see the great city in the sky at a distance, across the water. A safe distance? Certain structures, when observed through a telephoto lens and isolated against the Rococo sky, take on the characteristics of enormous spacecraft, hovering. What are these craft? Who built them? Is there anyone inside? This project imagines a series of dormant sentinels, all that remain of a long-dead civilization. Once menacing agents of intimidation and control, they remain among us as dormant guardians of a vanished empire.

Seems like a fitting contender post, given recent fascinations with the apocalypse: zombie, rapture or otherwise. It's a distinctly human pastime, the preoccupation with all things end-of-the-world. In this series, Eno has tapped into one of the plot lines in doomsday scenarios, wherein abuse of power and crowd control manifest themselves as an imposing, menacing armada in the skies.