Soft Power

Reference Joseph Nye’s “Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics,” Soft Power is Eli Skipp’s MFA thesis show and project. It consisted of 86 life sized stuffed modern and in-use weapons, created using traditional quilting fabric and stuffing. Represented are two types of missiles, Boeing Scan Eagle drones, molotov cocktails, AK-47s, SABRE riot grade pepper spray canisters, and police batons. Audiences were invited to cuddle in the pile of weapons, and on the date of presentation, participants were invited to join in a pillow fight. All participants were then allowed to choose a weapon to take home with them in homage to Felix Gonzalez-Torres.

This piece was shown both in an open individual gallery space, and in an altered gallery space covered in a reclaimed sheet tent. Each environment alters the experience of the piece.