AK-47 vs. M16

On first viewing, 'AK-47 vs. M16' offers an interpretation of war as signified by two bullets – and representative of two conflicting ideologies – colliding into and against each other. As the bullets enter the block, the ballistics gel – meant to simulate the consistency of human flesh – flails and recoils on its perch. Devoid of flesh-tones, the translucent ballistics gel, captured violently reverberating in the video, feels theatrical, almost like a tango moving through water. Yet in tandem, the ballistics block of 'AK-47 vs. M16' – housed in its pristine vitrine – presents an image of violence frozen, and entrapped as a clinical and futuristic exhibit.

'AK-47 vs. M16' responds to an idea of the past that is folded into a present and perhaps even future state of being, where memories and illusions collide. The work speaks at once about notions of time, space, distance, conflict and impact.