LAMENTATIONS: “WITH ENOUGH SHOVELS”

“If there are enough shovels to go around,
everybody’s going to make it [in a nuclear war].”

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Readymade Shovels with Enamel Paint
53 ½ x 8 ½ x 1 ½ in | 136 x 21.6 x 3.8 cm
2016

In his installation comprised of seven shovels, Brian Dailey parodies a 1982 statement by a Deputy Undersecretary for Defense whose prescription for surviving a nuclear attack can be summed up by the title of this work, "With Enough Shovels". The official’s solution for outliving a nuclear attack—digging and hiding in holes covered with three-feet of dirt. Stenciled in black on the vertical shaft of each shovel handle is the population of each of the corresponding seven continents.