An artwork time capsule
I’ve been given access to your mind, thoughts, fears, hopes, guilty secrets and blush-worthy dreams… By using art to become a vehicle for messages to your future selves, the barriers of the everyday were lifted:
I wanted to give you, the audience, the chance to participate in a highly personal artwork. And the results were better than I ever expected. You have been mailing me your letters and messages to be included in a time capsule. The artwork which serves as the time capsule took shape in direct response to the letters. (see the other Write Back blog posts here)
The letters were so open, honest and truthful – allowing a really human, intimate look inside your minds – that I was compelled to create an artwork which reflected this. I wanted to make a safe, precious place to hold these intimate and personal messages, but I also wanted to convey the tremendous openness and transparency of the letters and the writers. So the sculpture which was unveiled at London’s Debut Contemporary Gallery illustrated this dichotomy in the form of boxes. I sculpted memento boxes and keepsake
chests out of glass, complete with hinges, locks & handles, for your letters 
to nestle in. Of those who allowed me to use fragments of their letters publicly, I took the text and handwriting and embedded this on multiple layers within the glass, creating areas of dense, illegible text, and others where fragments of the messages were revealed.
So what happened next? During a ritual enacted at the event by performance artist Tracey McGarrigan (adorned with one of my sculptures), the envelopes were all sealed with a wax seal bearing the letters WB (Write Back), and placed inside the time capsule. In three years time, 2014, a piece of the artwork & your message will be mailed back to you.
Debut Contemporary Gallery featured their event review here, and Zeitgeist Magazine also did a fantastic piece about my work here.
Pictures of the resulting artwork are below, and you can see a video of me talking at the event here. Check out the slideshow below or on my Flickr
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[...] Secrets & confessions – by Nicola Anthony Posted by thefabelistregulars@gmail.com on Feb 1, 2012 in 'Connect' Project (Current), Art, Projects | No Comments // .nrelate_flyout {display:block; right: -400px; bottom: 0px; width:360px;} #nrelate_flyout_open{display:block; right: -80px;bottom: 0px;} #nrelate_flyout_close{background: #fff url(http://www.thefabelist.com/wp-content/plugins/nrelate-flyout/images/close_window.gif) no-repeat 0 0} // 0) { begin = document.cookie.indexOf(NameOfCookie+"="); if (begin != -1) { begin += NameOfCookie.length+1; end = document.cookie.indexOf(";", begin); if (end == -1) end = document.cookie.length; return unescape(document.cookie.substring(begin, end)); } } return "false"; } function nr_fo_set_closed_cookie(value,domain) { var NameOfCookie="nr_fo_closed"; var ExpireDate = new Date (); // Expiration date set to 2 hours. Must give at least 2 hours until view gets incremented for this url per user. ExpireDate.setTime(ExpireDate.getTime() + (7*24*60*60*1000)); document.cookie = NameOfCookie + "=" + value + "; expires=" + ExpireDate.toGMTString()+"; path=/" + "; domain="+domain ; } value=nr_fo_get_closed_cookie(); if(value=="false") nr_fo_closed=false; else nr_fo_closed=true; var nr_fo_hidden = true; jQuery(function($){$(window).scroll(function() {var lastScreen;lastScreen = getScrollY() + $(window).height() < ($("#nr_fo_bot_of_post").offset().top) ? false : true;if (lastScreen && !nr_fo_closed && getScrollY()!=0 && nRelate.flyout_show) {$(".nrelate_flyout").stop().animate({"right":"0px"});nr_fo_hidden = false}else if (nr_fo_closed && lastScreen && getScrollY()!=0 && nRelate.flyout_show) {$("#nrelate_flyout_open").stop().animate({"right":"0px"});nr_fo_hidden=false;}else if (!nr_fo_hidden && !nr_fo_closed) {$(".nrelate_flyout").stop().animate({"right":"-400px"});nr_fo_hidden = true;}else if (!nr_fo_hidden && nr_fo_closed) {$("#nrelate_flyout_open").stop().animate({"right":"-80px"});nr_fo_hidden = true;}});$("#nrelate_flyout_close").live("click",function() { $(".nrelate_flyout").stop().animate({"right":"-400px"}); $("#nrelate_flyout_open").stop().animate({"right":"0px"}); nr_fo_closed = true; nr_fo_hidden = false; nr_fo_set_closed_cookie(true,"www.thefabelist.com");});$("#nrelate_flyout_open").live("click",function() { $("#nrelate_flyout_open").stop().animate({"right":"-80px"}); $(".nrelate_flyout").stop().animate({"right":"0px"});nr_fo_closed = false; nr_fo_hidden = false; nr_fo_set_closed_cookie(false,"www.thefabelist.com");});}); var entity_decoded_nr_url = jQuery('').html("http://api.nrelate.com/fow_wp/0.49.4/?tag=nrelate_flyout&keywords=Secrets+%26amp%3B+confessions+%26%238211%3B+by+Nicola+Anthony&domain=www.thefabelist.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefabelist.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fsecrets-confessions-by-nicola-anthony%2F&nr_div_number=1"
.text(); nRelate.getNrelatePosts(entity_decoded_nr_url); //]]> I am fascinated by the connections between people that we don’t realise exist – the links between us all on a human, universal level. I like the fact that we are all a bit weird, dark and strange inside. But most of us spend a large portion of our time worrying about this or feeling alone and different. In my mind, the thing that connects us all is the fact we are all different and that is what it is to be human. A lot of my past projects have delved into this, asking people to give me a secret or write me a letter. [...] -
[...] I am fascinated by the connections between people that we don’t realise exist – the links between us all on a human, universal level. I like the fact that we are all a bit weird, dark and strange inside. But most of us spend a large portion of our time worrying about this or feeling alone and different. In my mind, the thing that connects us all is the fact we are all different and that is what it is to be human. A lot of my past projects have delved into this, asking people to give me a secret or write me a letter. [...]
Thank you for a great post.