Testdrive, installation view of "How," text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, installation view of "How" and "SUV," text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, installation detail of "SUV," text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, car photo detail from "SUV," text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, car photo detail from "SUV," text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, installation view of "Apology," text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, installation view of "Apology," text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, external window detail, text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, exhibition opening visiter test-drive, text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, exhibition opening visiter test-drive, text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive, exhibition opening apology mouth card, text-based installation, Eyelevelgallery, Halifax, 2002.
Testdrive (2002)
Testdrive considered the promotion of SUVs, markings found in self-help books and the repeated media spectacle of the public apology. Exhibited at Eyelevel Gallery from March 11-April 6 2002, the opening included a "test drive" experience in a Lincoln Navigator that was parked out front during the event.
Testdrive is part of Busby's larger body of work on pain, pain-management and care culture which includes Self-Help Library (1994), Where Does It Hurt? (1996), How... (2001), Self-Help Book Library (2014), and the collaborative anthology, When Pain Strikes (1999). It is also a foundational piece for Busby's body of work on car culture which includes SUV Series (2002), Totalled (2004), PARKING GOTTINGEN STREET (2011), DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT (2011), PARKING (2019) and PARKED (2024).
"There are three parts to the exhibition: "SUV", "Apology", and "How". "SUV" includes lots of pictures of the names of vehicles (like Navigator, Escape, etc.) framed close up, then a rear shot of each to show the context of the word. I also hope to be able to arrange a test-drive performance for the opening where people can take the vehicle out for a spin (with me) and get the feel of it (what emotional needs is it meeting?), or at least have it parked out front and do photos of people behind the wheel. The SUV would be a backdrop/prop, like when you pose for studio portraits.
"Apology" includes a number of images of figures in a state of apologizing (Mel Lastman, Ralph Klein, George W. Bush, etc.), found in newspapers and the like. What they are apologizing for will be nearby the image. "How" is a collection of reproductions of pages from self-help books (titles begin with "How") that have been marked by the reader (highlighted or underlined in pencil, or with asterisks, words, or numbers added). The actual books that these enlarged pages are from will be displayed, too."
Cathy Busby
March 2002