from the press release for icebox contemporary:Sport hunting research has made significant strides in attracting deer using sounds and smells related to the breeding process. Working as powerful motivators, these lures offer hunter the opportunity to easily communicate with deer on their own terms, however false that communication may be.
Overkill, an installation by Eakins, is an environment designed to entice whitetail deer to come into the gallery. She is hunting for viewers. Her prey is deer. This work hopes to engage wild animals in genuine (if not strictly visual) ways. She is curious if a wild animal could have a shared aesthetic experience with humans; she is attempting to meet them halfway using known lures to get them through the door. If the gallery smells like deer, it must be deer, right? Like children leaving milk and cookies for Santa, Eakins is interested in the longshot. Her hope is that the crowd (deer and people, maybe) will find what they are looking for--perhaps a willing mate, an appreciation of the objects, sounds, and smells, or maybe just a quiet place to graze.
