Template (96 die from gun violence each day in the US), 2019

Exhibition History

Point of Contact, MFA in Photography and Related Media Thesis Show, William Harris Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 2019

Installation INFORMATION

In the installation “Template (96 die from gun violence each day in the US)” (2019), I wanted to show how lives are being treated as disposable, and how desensitized to gun violence we’ve become. This piece, which grows during its time in the gallery and requires the audience’s participation, is comprised of several stacks of 96 paper sheets each. The papers in the stack are redacted copies of an original condolence letter sent from President Barack Obama to the parents of a late soldier. I’ve modified the text as if it were a condolence letter sent to the relatives of a gun violence victim, with the stamped date of each day and interchangeable spaces for the names of the victim and the victim’s relative, and for the relationship to the victim and the victim’s pronoun. Obama was the president who fought for harder gun reforms but was blocked by Congress each time. Guns are protected by the constitution within the second amendment, but it is something that the people of the United States could change, as other countries have done and proved successful. The header used in the template is reminiscent of the Presidential White House seals. It is in fact a modified version of a coin made in 1864, which was the first place that included the phrase “In God We Trust”. I’ve changed the phrase and the year, to “In Guns We Trust” and 1791, the year in which the second amendment was signed.

One stack of 96 letters is added to the gallery space each day of the exhibition. The installation starts with a few letters pinned to a calendar made out of cork board tiles in the wall. During the opening night of the exhibition, the rest of the 96 letters of that day are distributed to the audience. It is their choice to participate by pinning up the letters or by throwing them on the floor. Either way, the installation increases everyday, with one stack a day, to symbolize the 96 people who will die each day. As the exhibition continues, the paper piles up on the floor as the corkboard tiles become insufficient to hold it anymore. The audience is forced to step onto the paper sheets, which reinforces the idea of waste. By the end of the exhibition at William Harris Gallery, the installation have grew to 1,728 sheets, representing the amount of people who was killed by guns in 18 days.

This installation is intended to have the audience interact with the piece. By doing so, they must confront their civic responsibility knowing that each piece of paper represents one person who has been killed with a gun, while guns are protected by the constitution.