If it were not for the food, why are they attracted to them?
If there are other fellows, why wouldn’t they want to join?
If they know they are being tricked, why don’t they run?
For thousands of years, duck decoys have been used in waterfowl hunting. Crafted to resemble real ducks, they are placed on the water to lure wild waterbirds to land. When waterbirds see the decoys from above, they assume it is a habitual environment with abundant food sources. As a result, they land in the hunting ground. This seemingly straightforward tool carries narratives of imitation, attraction, and deception.
In Guo’s work everything is fine, the duck decoys are painted the colour of yellow rubber ducks, then placed on illusionistic water suspended on a fragile support structure. The supporting structure is constructed from IKEA stools raised on double-extended wooden stilts. A piece of bright blue fabric is held precariously aloft, secured only by the weight of the decoys. In a joyful scene of yellow ducks floating on water but with rolling eyes (in reference to Zhu Da’s animal paintings), Guo creates a visual fable mirroring the ducks’ reaction to the fragility and fakeness of the scene.
Based on everything is fine, With All Due Respect incorporates over one hundred duck decoys collected from across Ontario, Canada, as observers of the audience, potential prey for the trap, and representation of the audience. By untwining the logic behind duck decoys, Guo uses them as an analogy. With All Due Respect challenges the viewers to confront their herd mentality and self-deception, which contributes to institutional power structures that are rife with deception and exploitation.
Artist Bio:
Anran Guo (b. 1996）is a queer female artist currently based between Hamilton and Toronto. She grew up in China and move to Canada in 2014. Guo holds an Honours Bachelors of Art in Art and Art History and a Master of Visual Studies in Studio Art from the University of Toronto.
Guo’s practice focuses primarily on sculpture and installation. Her works are metaphorical and playful, offering layered readings that often critique social and political systems. Employing semiotics in the manipulation of the visual information on, or the form of found objects, Guo constructs visual fables. Her works transform simple everyday objects through minimal intervention. The everydayness of these objects makes Guo’s work accessible and provoke critical reflection on the invisible power dynamics at play in society.
Guo’s work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Mississauga, Hamilton Artist Inc., Centre[3] for Artistic and Social Practice, and the Art Museum at the University of Toronto. She was the Juror Award recipient in the 2018 University of Toronto Shelley Peterson Student Art Exhibition and the First Place Award recipient in the 2020 Visual Arts Mississauga 42nd Annual Juried Show of Fine Art. Guo's works have been collected by Sheridan College and by private collectors in North America.
