Collage

-2021-

The Shoot, object: handbag with arrows, 2 DIN A4 printouts (concept text and e-mail), approx. 110 × 90 × 40 cm, edition of 5, II, Trophy Bag, digital collage: 23.5 × 22 cm, edition of 5, II

Christian Jankowski transforms the iconic Lady Dior bag by piercing it with a sheaf of colourful arrows. The shafts radiate from the bag into a space beyond that of the wearer, reaching into broader cultural territory. It becomes both sculpture and statement.
The Shoot evokes art-historical representations of Saint Sebastian, shot through with arrows, who figures prominently in queer iconography. It also recalls Diana, goddess of the hunt, whose emblem is the bow and arrow. In this way, the work gestures to the creation story behind the Lady Dior, made in honour of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, a year before her death.
The arrows also articulate the performative act behind Jankowski’s creation of the work, in which the artist takes aim with a modern bow from different angles. It is made with reference to his early work, The Hunt (1992), in which the artist lived for a week on provisions shot with a bow and arrow in local supermarkets. Here, the pointed tips pierce the lambskin flank of the trophy bag, subjecting it to a symbolic product test, and serve as directional cues for the convergence of forces around the object of desire.
Like much of Jankowski’s work, The Shoot draws attention to the relationship between artist and audience. In its altered state, the bag bears likeness to a quiver – a container for arrows carried on the archer’s body. Those in possession of the object thus activate a transfer of power.