Everybody Wins: New Work by David Sollie

Soo Visual Arts Center is proud to present Everybody Wins, a Shackway Corporation retrospective and product pavilion by artist David Sollie. Through an innovative and at times interactive installation, Sollie’s exhibition will explore dynamics of power and human nature—both the best and worst of our motivations—through the lens of Shackway Corporation’s history.

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As described by Sollie, Shackway’s morally hazy corporate history is a reflection of the highs and lows of the American dream. Founded in 1948 by Bruce Milburn (Sollie's paternal grandfather), it rose from humble beginnings to become a “worldwide marketing octopus,” selling a wide variety of products ranging from the shockingly dangerous to the heroically ingenious. In David’s own words:

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This all began as a way of asking questions about my grandfather, but investigating the Shackway corporation's history has become a way of posing questions about the larger family of mankind. Heading a large company like Shackway is just like having piles of money, or political power: not inherently good or bad, but having tremendous resources can magnify the things that are good or bad in human nature. We are part of nature, and like nature, we can be both predatory and noble.

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The show uses the Shackway Company’s historical archives, peculiar products and advertising, to reflect how humanities’ best intentions sometimes collide with our most base impulses. In the spirit of Sollie advocating for the collective win, visitors will receive an original "Grandma Shackway’s Finest" soup can print (pictured above) in exchange for bringing in non-perishable food donations. After the close of the exhibition the food will be donated to Lighthouse CSP, the drop in center and kitchen for Resource-Spectrum Community Mental Health (a full service center that helps individuals with serious mental illness live successfully in the community).