Photographs by Elijah Gowin

Tin Roof Press, Kansas City, 2021. 20pp. 14.75”x11.5”

20 color illustrations and archival pigment print

Edition of 100

80 gsm bright 100% recycled paper

Made during a 2019 artist in residency at the Missouri State Fair, this collection of images looks at games of chance and portraits of youth culture. Today’s children and adolescents are often described as having a mixture of anxiety and great uncertainty about the future. In a world where school shootings, violent culture wars, and climate change have become normalized, one can easily understand their fears. Titled “Shooting Star, Inc.,” in reference to the name of the target manufacturer of the fair shooting games, this publication pulls together photographs to question whether hope can survive if the games, like life, are rigged against them.

Each newspaper comes with its own letter size archival pigment print of a randomly chosen photograph from this series. Part artist book, part democratic and economical offering.