Danger Signs

Description:

Danger Signs was a public art installation by Susan Schuppli that comprised a series of signs that mimicked historical plaques. These were installed on the exterior of Western Front and in six public locations within the nine-block area between Pender, Water, Abbott, and Richards Streets in downtown Vancouver. Danger Signs examined the representation of women as urban protagonists, presenting a set of personas representing tropes historically associated with masculinity: the Detective, the Activist, the Navigator, the Guerrilla, the Explorer, and the Renegade. 

By relocating the site of aesthetic encounter beyond the gallery, Schuppli represented women in clandestine activities in public space, situating them both visually and socially “out of place” to construct an imagined form of resistance with the potential for real and empowering impact.