Title: Shotgun Home (America)

Artist: Margaret Roleke

Year: 2019

Materials: welded steel, zip ties, rope, spent shotgun shells

This piece is a comment on gun violence. Americans are killing one another at an alarming rate. The piece is colorful and engaging; but on closer examination, the viewer realizes it is made from spent shells. One can observe the text on each shell which reads the brand and gauge of the shell. Each shell was collected from a shooting range in Connecticut. The artist donates a portion of each sale to organizations that work for gun control.

Margaret Roleke’s work explores sensationalism, consumerism and the crazy contradictions and relationships that develop when popular culture mixes with war and religion. 

Numerous small toys are utilized in the conversation, which allows these serious issues of consumption, consumerism, war, violence and religious extremism to be presented in a playful elegant manner. Actual bullet casings and brass transform into jewel-like abstractions. Multitudes of toys are painted in a monochromatic palette, which allows them to be read as minimalist painting.