DON'T SHOOT
DON'T SHOOT for SideQuest Gallery June 2014
As “decorative” art, the guns are harmless, “reduced” to their elemental properties of plastic, metal, light and sound – attached to thousands of feet of hand-cut garlands made from fiber, ribbon, tape, twine and plastic hanging from aluminum wire sculptures. I’ve afixed hundreds of beads, bells, charms and mirrors to the garlands as well.
The installation is a space viewers may enter. Hung as “chandeliers,” these sculptures invite the viewer to touch and be touched by garlands of reflection and fabric. I am inspired by garlands as accessories of celebration. Here, various gauges of transparent plastic reflect light. Bright fabrics in solid colors and patterns reflect off plastic. Showers of transparency reflect the person within and the exhibition space beyond. The guest becomes performance artist, transparent to others and to herself, in a neutralized zone.