“This is the three R’s. The Three R’s:

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition”

-Mark E. Smith of the Fall, 1977

During the pandemic, artist Oli Watt began work on a series of 101 non-functional decoy forms inspired by Chicago artist Roger Brown’s collection of duck decoys. With collected local wood from downed trees, found objects and, on occasion, purchased materials, Watt created a family of water fowl decoys. Working with ideas of attraction (a decoy’s function) and distraction (creating useless objects during a pandemic lockdown), the materials dictated the forms and processes used. Ranging from the elegant to the abject, each completed decoy presented ideas and challenges that led to the next. Overall, 101 Decoys is an exercise in understanding, utilizing, and undermining repetition as a process and a tool.

101 Decoys is a photo book documenting the entire sculpture project. It was designed by Zhenqi Ong with photography by Evan P. Jenkins. The book is 62 pages long, measures 10” x 10,” with a die-cut soft cover and hand-embossed signature by Oli.

101 Decoys costs $35 plus media-mail shipping of $3.50 in the United States. Decoys are also available for purchase, prices available upon request. Contact info is below.