Shannon Cannings

My latest work has turned away from explicit gun imagery but still uses references to gun culture. My recent series “Distortions” borrows a chaotic striped camouflage pattern called “Razzle Dazzle” from Naval ships in World War I and classic shooting targets. I use mylar in my studio to disrupt the graphic patterns, stretching and puckering them across flat panels.

I hope to engage viewers explore their own relationships with gun culture and gun control and the language of guns, freedom, fear, and protection. At one of my exhibitions, the gallerist hired an armed guard as a precaution, due to an online threat. With each exhibition, and news story of yet another shooting (and subsequent talking head debate), I come away with more questions, or a different angle on this complicated problem. And those questions lead to the next group of paintings, and the next. I don’t know how to end gun violence in the US, but I do want my work to act as a catalyst for the discussion.