Machine No. 6  (1967) is one of a series of sculpture works that artist Shinkichi Tajiri (1923 – 2009) made from recycled metal materials. Sleek panels, gun-like forms and engine parts combine to create a futuristic robot.

Working at the height of the Cold War, Tajiri was interested in exploring connections between speed, technology, warfare and modernity. His Machine series was made in protest of governments’ rocketing spending on military technology. Reflecting on his own military experience during the Second World War, the artist noted, “I am anxious over the frightening technological developments that aid men in evolving and perfecting the means and machines of executing legalized murder under the name of war.”

Photographed in the Tate Modern Museum in London.