A bullet fired by two children travels on and randomly, intervening in a series of scenes in Oursler’s quirky, dismal puppet land. The bullet kills a suicidal man, re-aligns an antenna, strikes a prize stud bull, and ultimately impregnates a woman by passing through her neighbor’s left testicle, then lodging in her ovary. In this metaphor for the spread of violence in society, the bullet represents destructive forces of accidental death and the sexual forces that create new life.
Tony Oursler’s expressionistic reveries incorporate phantasmagoric sets and rambling stream-of-diseased-consciousness narrative that serve to illustrate the depths of a psyche becoming unhinged. Oursler’s early tapes of personal investigation and social reflection earned him a cult following among New York audiences; his more recent installation work has used projected images on sculptural forms. Oursler has collaborated with a number of other artists, including Constance DeJong, Joe Gibbons, and the band Sonic Youth.