Not a Prescription

"Not a Prescription" stands as a poignant and thought-provoking found object sculpture, born out of a personal response to the tragic events of a mass shooting in Maine in 2023. This artwork serves not just as a memorial to the tragic incident but as a critical commentary on the intertwined issues of mental health, gun violence, and the accessibility of firearms in the United States.

At the heart of this piece is a prescription bottle, a familiar object repurposed to convey a narrative far removed from its original function of healing. The label on the bottle has been digitally recreated for the shooter, who suffered a mental health crisis at the time of the shooting. This deliberate choice of subject for the prescription label underscores a disturbing irony: the prescription, in this context, warns against the side effects of resorting to violence and firearms as a means to address mental health issues, highlighting a societal malady rather than offering a cure.

The bottle, filled with bullets rather than medicine, stands as a stark symbol of the perilous ease with which instruments of violence are dispensed and acquired. The inclusion of the NRA's contact information on the label is a direct critique of the gun lobby's role in facilitating access to firearms, pointing to the perverse inversion of priorities where obtaining a gun becomes more straightforward than securing medical help for mental health conditions.

"Not a Prescription" is a clarion call to confront and address the gun violence epidemic that plagues the United States. It challenges the viewer to question the societal and legislative frameworks that enable such tragedies to recur with alarming frequency. Through this sculpture, I aim to ignite a conversation on the urgent need for comprehensive gun control measures and a reevaluation of how we, as a society, respond to mental health crises. The piece asserts a powerful message: Guns are not, and should never be, the prescription for addressing mental health issues.