Cort Savage, Professor of Art and Chair of Art at Davidson College, produced this work as part of his Interiorities series—a body of work created over a decade that relies on a simple form and process: hundreds of thousands of black rubber bands formed into a ball. A nearby X-ray reveals that this particular ball is not solid but rather a vessel cradling a loaded, cocked gun.

While a rubber band ball may often suggest play, the work’s blackness, enlarged scale, accompanying X-Ray, and, of course, loaded revolver, instead convey a sense of danger and precarity. Savage asks, “While we may perceive threat, to what extent do we understand its gravity? Can time and layering nullify that threat, or do they simply hide the reality temporarily?” Although the work was made in 2004, these questions persist in the face of government inaction after decades of mass shootings, police brutality, systemic racism, and inequitable healthcare, especially in light of the pandemic.