Published by the artists: Agitpop Press, 2021
Softcover, 134 pages
28 x 21 cm | 8.5 x 11 in
Edition of 100
From the artist: “Domestic Terrorism” is an artist book that grew out of my solo show of the same name, at Elijah Wheat Showroom in 2020. The show is comprised of a series of machine-tufted rugs that use the material and visual narrative strategies found in Afghan war rugs to depict state-sanctioned violence in America. Our book expands upon the motifs that the rugs explore (e.g., police brutality, the inept handling of the pandemic, immigration detention, gun violence, income inequality, environmental degradation) all in the cheery, exuberant format of a 70s-style Sears catalogue.
We lighted upon the artistic medium of a Sears catalogue to portray American decline as what it unavoidably is: a consumer experience. “Domestic Terrorism” is a catalogue meant to advertise and enshrine the violence portrayed on the rugs—violence that, over the course of the pandemic invaded every facet of American life and even breached the Capitol itsef. As the format of a catalogue demands, this artist book is chock full of objects that can be purchased in America right now—anything from Confederate flag belly button rings to a Blue Lives Matter Christmas ornament. Collages of such objects are paired with thematically resonant text.
In 2020, the violence of American Exceptionalism became domestic on many levels: literal, intimate, national, and—like a rug that really ties the room together—centered in our homes and hearths.
Manifest Destiny, as it turns out, was an ad campaign; “Domestic Terrorism” lets you bring a little slice of it home to your very own coffee table!