Washington - Even if you can't go on an actual caribou hunt with Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, you can certainly get shot trying.

An artist in Brooklyn, New York, has created an exhibit where visitors can get photographed for free - wearing a fake fur vest, brandishing a cardboard rifle - with life-size cutouts of Palin and daughter Piper. A large, stuffed, slain caribou is thrown in for dramatic effect.

The work by artist Dawn Robyn Petrlik is entitled "A Photo Op with Sarah Palin" and features a rifle-toting Palin and her daughter kneeling in the snow, with mountains in the background. A fluttering US flag at the side completes the picture.

"Humour is the best way sometimes to deal with very serious issues," Petrlik told the New York Daily News of the exhibit that shows through October 26 at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition.

She came up with the idea for "Photo Op" after seeing a smiling photograph a few weeks back of Palin and Piper next to a caribou they had gunned down.

The artist was disturbed by the celebratory picture. "I found it to be a disturbing dichotomy between her extreme pro-life stance and her glorification of hunting."

She said she was "just struck with this idea of this extreme situation that is also very scary, that this woman will be that close to being the president if (Republican John) McCain is elected."

So she tried to "turn that into something humorous, which helps us diffuse some of the fear and process it ... and it lets the audience in as well."

Petrlik created the exhibit at a cost of 12,500 dollars. She nicknamed the dead caribou Petunia.

"Glorifying hunting is unnecessary, and a little scary for someone who would be our leader," she said. The artist added, "She is a powerful woman - I would give her that. And she's obviously charismatic."

Hundreds of visitors, including many Republican supporters, have been photographing themselves with the photo-shopped Palin. Many of their pictures, in different poses, adorn a wall near the main exhibit.

"About one-third of the people have wanted to shoot Sarah, and all of them thought they were unique," Petrlik was quoted as saying.

Palin, 44, who came into the media spotlight after Republican presidential hopeful John McCain picked her as his running mate last month, is an outspoken, staunchly pro-life candidate who opposes gay marriage and backs other traditional Republican causes.

She's a member of the National Rifle Association, the powerful group that lobbies against regulating access to guns. A self- described ice hockey mom, her hobbies include salmon fishing and moose hunting. (dpa)