Sentient Decoy
Mariella Otto
23 January—1 March
Galler Format, Stora Nygatan 53 Malmö
"A decoy is a kind of stand-in, or prop, used in hunting [from dutch; de kooi, meaning cage]. Copying the silhouette, colours and texture of a bird –coiling reeds, willow and feathers together– the dupe [bait] is then placed in tall grass, or on water. Remaining static, its presence at the field, or lake, reassures wildlife that entry is safe; a trap. In this way, the hunter deceives a species with its own image – aiming for the faux to be interpreted and understood as nature, by nature itself. The scenario of a dead, but life-like model [semblance], terminating life in its original, plays out like a reversed or turning animism: a coming to life which cancels life, where decoy and bird alike, inevitably become statues."