D624
PROJECT 19
Anne-Laure Oberson
SHOOT!
September 8th - December 1st 2007
open access monday-saturday 8am to 5pm

Shoot… and Shoot! is a two-part art project by
Anne-Laure Oberson set up in the space of D624.

In English, the word shoot, whether used as a verb or substantive, has two different opposite meanings: as a verb, to shoot a person means to kill by firing a bullet (by analogy to shoot a film or photograph means to take a picture); but as a noun, a shoot is a newly growing plant, the first part of green to appear above the earth from a seed. One same word signifies destruction and creation, death and rebirth.

During the month of July, a shortlist of people known to the artist will be invited to “shoot themselves” inside the space, in a straightforward, purposefully blank setting – a camera on tripod facing a white pedestal on a white background, a long cable release – no props, nothing else. The glass vitrine provides a sense of intimacy, the person is inside a space, a door can be shut, but as a transparent barrier it simultaneously reveals what is happening inside – the action cannot be hidden. The sitter can ask the artist to leave or to be of assistance.

The resulting self-portraits will never be exhibited; they will never be shown to the sitters either. They will be finely printed into a small leather-bound book that will be buried into the ground at a predetermined location. In due time, the sitters will receive the exact coordinates of the location.

Emblematic here through shooting a photographic image, the artist is asking each person to commit an act of awareness, of control and release, upon oneself in the presence of and known to another person – not being alone is a very important detail in the process – hence engaging issues of trust and responsibility.

In September, a simple irrigation system will be set up within the D624 space that will allow watering of seeds planted in fresh soil. The seeds will become shoots solely upon the care of people, the sitters themselves or passers-by. Hence, the project will take form, come to completion, only if one wants it to, personally intervenes and cares enough to do so.

This project brings forth thoughts about commitment, vulnerability, hope, fear, awareness and acceptance.

The entire project will only be documented for archiving purposes. At the end of the project there will be no resulting product, only a memory of it.

For more information you can contact the artist directly at info@d624.org

Shoot… July 4th – August 1st
Shoot!
September 8th – December 1st