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Fly Swatter by Casey Voogt

It's meant to kill, a weapon that everybody uses.

The fly swatter, there are so many different once, small or big ones, weird forms and patterns, some of them are electric, with leather and some are just plastic in all sort of colours. It looks a bit like a toy, where you can play with, slap your brother with for fun or wave around with in the air. But actually they are meant for killing.
Flies, wasps, bees, spiders, weird insects, they annoy or scar us and therefore we respons to kill them. When I was a kid I killed for fun, I didn’t realise that there are living beings too. I only could think of that fly that probably was sitting on a nice fresh poo and the next moment it sat on my plate where I was eating from. I killed it in a moment full of hate and fear, a moment full of aggression. I slapped it three or four times, till I was sure it’s dead. I once killed like a thirty flies that where in our house, somewhere they had build a nest and suddenly our house was full of flies. I was proud to see all the dead flies laying on the ground, dead, because of me.
Terror flies. When you are outside, relaxing in the sun, then they come, that is their moment to come and get you, to tease you, to dare you. They can’t leave you alone, they fly around you all the time an go to sit down on every part of your body! So I waved and smashed around with my arms, again and again... Stupid fly, go away! Now it’s over! I stand up, and search for the fly swatter, a nice one where I can smash it really hard with. I got it. Now back outside and kill that beast. God damn, it’s gone, of course!
A few years later I realised that we people are killers. We are responsible for hundreds of kills every year and sometimes we are proud of it, we feel relieved when it’s done. We just want to live a happy and relaxed insect free life. Where we not have to worry about... Juck! Again a disgusting fly in my mouth! Iew! But what are the good things about flies, insects, and spiders? We forget that sometimes. We forget their reason the be alive in this world just like us.

We have 15 fly swatters in our house!

This is such a weird form, kill an insect with an insect...

Fly swatters are meant for killing, but what else can you do with it? Or how can you not kill something with it?

You will leave a mark everytime you slap an insect.
Don't leave a mark...

Artist John Knuth proved that the common housefly is more than a pest, he breaded out 250,000 flies who made this painting. He called it "Made in Los Angels".
Click on it for more info.

Little art works with dead flies from photographer Magnus Muhr.

Dead fly painting by Damien Hirst. Blackness of the dead.

Flies hate the smell of garlic, lavender, basil, clove, vinegar and onion.

Fly swatter kids games...

A fly swatter is one of the first weapons a kid get in touch with. We grew up with it, so it is normal for us to kill insects with it. It is ment to kill, but fly swatters look nice and fun with all their different forms and colours. Kids play with fly swatters for fun. Why do they look like a toy? They are designed weapons, to play and kill with.
Can I make a fly swatter the opposite of fun? Because for me killing is something that shouldn't be funny, it is a serious thing. A thing that must be forbidden. We need insects more than ever to restore our ecosystem and bring back the balance in nature.

So how can I improve the fly swatter so that people don't kill with it anymore?
- Can I make it into a non killing device, like a fluffy stick?
- Can I make it unable to handle, so heavy that you can't lift it?
- Can I make a different design that make people think about what they do with it and if they than still want to use it, show them the real story?
- Can I make it the best and last thing that a fly sees before he dies, like a nice fresh poo.

I tried out some film scripts scenario's to explain my mending approach.

Don't let their blood stick on your hands...