Silver Bullet Test Site (2017)​​​​​​​, Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Dimensions: 120 x 96 x 96 inches.​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​
"Silver Bullet Test Site" overall shot. image description: A sculpture stands in front of a large row of windows (shades closed). The sculpture is a point perspective room made out of wood, and is painted to resemble a basement on the interior. a monitor hangs on the outside of the structure.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Dimensions: 120 x 96 x 96 inches. Photo by Jackie Furtado

On May 5, 1955 during the first part of the Cold War, the Federal Civil Defense Administration of the United States conducted an exploratory nuclear explosion at the Nevada Test Site. The predominant purpose of the test was to discover the effects of a nuclear explosion on various building types and construction materials. “Operation Cue,” a short film about the explosion, was distributed to the public to express American optimism and the supposed inevitability of a nuclear strike. A fake town called “Survival Town” was created for annihilation; a space of anticipation as buildings and mannequins awaited their ultimate doom. I started to wonder how a space can contain both feelings of safety and horror? What is the culture of a safe space? And whom does the safe space benefit?
Silver Bullet Test Site is model of a nondescript basement shelter, transforming from full-scale to miniature in a one-point perspective. It is built as a collapsible set that separates into individual painting frames, giving it the impression of being in flux. The sculpture has a video monitor on the exterior, showing a short film of an idyllic desert landscape, native flora and fauna, and unsuspecting buildings.
"Silver Bullet Test Site" overall shot (shades closed) with two viewers interacting with the sculpture: one stands in front contemplating the entry to a fictional basement room, and the other to the side of the sculpture, using headphones and watching the video on the exterior of the structure.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Dimensions: 120 x 96 x 96 inches.​​​​​​​ Photo by Jackie Furtado

"Silver Bullet Test Site" overall shot (shades open) with two viewers interacting with the sculpture: one stands in front contemplating the entry to the room, and the other to the side of the sculpture, using headphones and watching the video on the exterior of the structure.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Dimensions: 120 x 96 x 96 inches.​​​​​​​ Photo by Jackie Furtado

"Silver Bullet Test Site" detail from the right side of sculpture, showing the raw wood exterior of the structure, and a television mounted to the side with headphones. On the screen we see a faint image of an ibex standing in the desert.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Dimensions: 120 x 96 x 96 inches.​​​​​​​ Photo by Jackie Furtado

Image description: A TV monitor hangs on the outside of the sculpture "Silver Bullet Test Site" with headphones also dangling from the sculpture. The monitor shows the image of a lone abandoned wooden house in the middle of the desert. The image is created using found online images that are cut and assembled for the video.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Photo by Jackie Furtado

A Zoomed in side view of "Silver Bullet Test Site" showing TV monitor, headphones, and exterior walls of the sculpture.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Photo by Jackie Furtado

A video still taken from the "Silver Bullet Test Site" video. Image description: a close-up view of a paper house with desert background. The windows reflect the sky. The image is created using found online images that are cut and assembled for the video.

HD video still.

HD Video with Sound / CC
An image of "Silver Bullet Test Site" showing a direct frontal view of the sculpture. viewed directly, one sees a point perspective model of a basement that moves from the actual scale of the viewer to miniature scale, creating a false sense of dimension.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Dimensions: 120 x 96 x 96 inches.​​​​​​​ Photo by Carry Whittier

A frontal view of "Silver Bullet Test Site" with a viewer gazing into a fictional basement space.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video.  Dimensions: 120 x 96 x 96 inches.​​​​​​​ Photo by Jackie Furtado

detail image of the interior of "Silver Bullet Test Site", including painted faux cinderblock walls, a miniature staircase to the back, a white pipe moving from floor to ceiling is to the right of the image. There is also what appears to be some trash on the floor at the bottom mid-right of the image, and a small drain to the left.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Photo by Jackie Furtado

a close up of the sculpture's interior showing a piece of blue plastic trash on the grey floor to the left of the image, and a detail of a white plastic pipe coming out of the floor with spray foam at its base on the right.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Photo by Jackie Furtado

cropped in image of sculpture interior, showing a miniature drain on the grey floor to the middle left, and the piece of blue plastic trash to the right of the image

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Photo by Jackie Furtado

A close detail of "Silver Bullet Test Site" showing a miniature, point-perspective staircase.

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Photo by Jackie Furtado

A black and grey ceramic snake sits underneath the sculpture, viewable only from the back side

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video. Photo by Jackie Furtado

detail of A black and grey ceramic snake sitting underneath sculpture

Installation: wood, bolts, house-paint, ceramic, miniature light, PVC, insulation foam, dirt/trash, HD video.

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