Caroline Doherty: Ruse de Guerre
March 7 - March 29, 2020
Opening: Saturday March 7, 6-10pm. Performance at 7pm

It is eight false flags. It is eight true flags. It is truth and it is post truth. It might be a lie.

Made in response to the destabilization of truth in politics and media, the central work in this exhibition is a play on the term false flag, wherein an entity, such as a government, carries out an covert operation in such a way that it appears to have been carried out by another entity. The term originates in naval warfare, when a ship would raise the flag of an opponent, hiding its true identity before a battle. A false flag is considered a ruse de guerre, or ruse of war - an act of military deception. The term is also often used to support conspiracy theories.

In the context of the exhibition, the flags, in concert with made and found objects, new video shot in Lubbock, and a new performance, present conflicting information, asking questions about the impact of humans on themselves and each other, on land, environment, and climate.

Ruse de Guerre is the final exhibition in a series of short-term installations and exhibitions revolving around the theme of “Land” presented from January to March 2020 at CO-OPt Research + Projects. 

Jan 15 - 28 – What Can We Make When We Can’t Make War?, a collaborative exhibition by J. Eric Simpson and Cody Arnall. Artist talk, moderated by Natalie Hegert, on January 23, 7pm. 
Jan 31 – Feb 16 – Tumbleweed Rodeo, an installation by Sarah Aziz and Jack Craft
Feb 20 – Mar 1 – Visual Resource Management, works in progress by Everything Is Collective
Mar 7 – 29 Ruse de Guerre, video, performance and installation by Caroline Doherty

About the artist:
Caroline Doherty is an artist and educator based in Buffalo, NY. She employs multiple mediums, including sculpture, performance, video, and public projects. Residencies include the Squeaky Wheel Workspace Residency in Buffalo, the SOMA Summer Program in Mexico City, the ArtPark Working Artist Residency Program in Lewiston, NY, and Guapamacataro Center for Art and Ecology in Michoacan, Mexico. Recent projects include a permanent outdoor sculpture series at ArtPark, and exhibitions and performances at Indigo Gallery in Buffalo, In/Future at Ontario Place in Toronto, Tsinghua University in Beijing, the Chongjiang Contemporary Art Museum in Chongqing, and CEPA Gallery in Buffalo. Caroline has been an educator for over 15 years, facilitating artmaking for youth, university students, and adults in formal and informal settings in the US, Mexico, and Canada. She holds a BFA in Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art, and an MFA from the Department of Art at the University at Buffalo (SUNY).