This is an installation I created in 1993. I was inspired by Manon Rheaume, the first woman to play in the NHL, and by the projection artwork of Canadian artist Wyn Geleynse. With just one poor image from a hockey magazine, (right) I created a slide and modified a projector to use a strobe light instead of a regular bulb. I built a rotating and uneven surface and collected sound bites of stadium crowds cheering and jeering, and of pucks being shot.

The installation consisted of a darkened room with a projection of her image onto the uneven, rotating surface, and with the sound playing loudly in the background. The effect was of her flickering image appearing suspended in space, moving in a mock skating motion, and deflecting the puck over and over.

As a feminist I wondered what it was like to have men shooting pucks shot at you at 90mph, and wondered what it felt like for the men doing it, i.e. did it make any difference to them that a woman was in goal? About a year later I lucked upon Manon's book signing at a Vancouver sports-book store on 4th Ave. I got my book and stood dutifully in line. When I finally got to her, I tried to tell her about my project and asked her if she was interested in women's issues. Her english skills were limited but I didn't get the sense that she was interested in either-- just a gal that likes playing hockey. ha!