The focus of this work is the environmental, social, and corporeal violence we enact in our culture– both intended and unintended.  In exploring the male-dominated world of target shooting, I discovered a complex subculture that blends open aggression and mature responsibility. The iconic targets used at the range inspired me to create and then shoot my own images. This puts me into the role initially of perpetrator. Once I rework the pieces, by painting around or embellishing the bullet holes, I become sympathizer, gardener, and healer. The art-making becomes a transformative experience, where a violent act can be stunted, transmuted, and disabled to reflect what culturally we do to most acts of violence: make them unnaturally palatable.

Contrary to how it may appear, this is a performance series. The “work” of these paintings occurred at a shooting range, where I shot my own hand-painted targets. The process of learning to shoot, of immersing myself in the culture of a shooting range, of encountering reactions not only to my paintings but to my gender, and of actively participating in the violence of firing a weapon informs all of these works.  Works shot “blindly” or from behind (painted side facing away when shot) are noted and inform the conceptual intention behind the series.ses unintentional injury and random brutality.