Shooting Gallery

Description:

Shooting Gallery was a kinetic installation by Yvonne Parent modelled after a fairground-style shooting gallery. The installation included four conveyor belts, all moving at different speeds, set before a painted backdrop that was part bullseye, part idyllic landscape. The targets were plaid-hatted hunters, businessmen, and other symbols of power and conventionality. Mimicking a rifle range, there were also four wooden booths, fitted with sound equipment and a different lens that either displayed an image or offered a distorted view of the scene ahead. A small red button in each booth triggered a recorded poem by Parent.

The work reflected on the fraught relations between artist and viewer, and artist and gallery system; and invoked hunting, sporting, commercial exchange, and gender dynamics—underscoring the latent potential for violence.

The exhibition was accompanied by a performance by Parent in the Grand Luxe Hall. 

An opening reception was held on Jun 7, 1988. 

Curated by Annette Hurtig.