ABSTRACT
Through this interview, Leier discusses her project “Avert” with Pallavi Swaranjali and Ryan Stec. Avert is a temporary installation of a series of life-size inkjet prints that are representations of the artist awkwardly negotiating the urban landscape as she attempts to avoid unwarranted interactions. In the images, she embodies small gestures such as holding a set of keys between her fingers or making her body small. Other actions are overt or absurd such as hiding behind foliage or ducking behind a fire hydrant. The images draw attention to the ways in which one may subtly and anxiously negotiate spaces that are typically designed and socially regulated for and by men. Through this work, the artist asks: what goes unnoticed and unattended when we are coping with violence? Avert presents the opportunity for viewers to consider their coping mechanisms, methods of endurance and responsibility to aid in one another’s safety.
