A Fair Shot 20 Drawing

A Fair Shot consists of 61 drawing configurations and an installation all made on pages of Botswana’s Government Gazette, a weekly government issue publication which contains all the pertinent changes and updates that occur in the lives of Botswana’s people and juristic entities, as well as the desperately sought-after opportunities to tender for government funded projects, a field plagued by corruption despite putting forth the appearance of affording everyone a fair shot. The drawings and spray paint markings made on these Government Gazette pages for A Fair Shot, and by extension A Fair Shot – Yellow pages and A Fair Shot – Yellow Pages B, are a comment on the corruption which plagues the economy and political landscape of Botswana and how the people represented by the faces drawn on these pages do not all have the same chance at succeeding in one of the most lucrative sectors in Botswana’s economy. A Fair Shot features 45 pieces each made of 10 Government Gazette pages with various configurations of ink and brush drawings of the frustrated faces of Botswana and spray paint marked pages representing an estimate* of the ratio of government tenders awarded honestly (black) vs corruptly (red). The entirety of the A Fair Shot series was made using old Government Gazettes from The National Assembly and the IEC (Internal Electoral Commission) which were to be disposed of. Some of them dated back as far as 2009. It is ironic that these works made specifically to critique Botswana’s law-making entities and electoral system were acquired from the very entities at the center of these criticisms. The fact that one can acquire old copies with relative ease makes the Government Gazette the most convenient and affordable paper at an artist’s disposal in Botswana which, in a way, makes it seem like the paper is meant to be used for the purpose of making this kind of social commentary. *There are no official statistics pertaining to any aspect of corruption in Botswana