Shana Moulton's 'Prevention' exhibition at Gimpel Fils explores health anxiety and alternative remedies

Shana Moulton's exhibition 'Prevention' at Gimpel Fils in 2013 featured sculptures and films exploring health anxiety, alternative medicine, and pharmaceutical marketing. The show included works like 'Medical Dreamcatcher' sculptures made from modified walking aids wrapped in colored wool and adorned with pill dispensers. Two central films, 'Lyrica' and 'Restless Leg Saga,' follow Moulton's alter ego Cynthia navigating minor health complaints through countercultural remedies. Moulton's background growing up in the Whispering Pines senior trailer park informs her examination of how fear of illness makes people vulnerable to magical thinking and commercialized wellness solutions. The exhibition title references an American health magazine, conveying a lifelong struggle against mortality. Moulton's work combines spiritual imagery, pharmaceutical advertising aesthetics, and digital psychedelia to critique the aggressive promotion of supplements and cures. Her videos feature synthesized music reminiscent of Enya, creating an atmosphere of earnest but misguided quests for wellbeing. The artist previously worked as a house organizer, which contributed to her understanding of how people invest faith in objects and rituals for health. The exhibition was reviewed in the January & February 2013 issue of ArtReview.