Nicky Bird, Edinburgh,  Scotland

The Arcade

(2001)

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September 2001: the Arcade, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

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Playing Detective (2001) was the result of a residency in the Convergence International Arts Festival. From hundreds of photographs of unidentified sitters found in Rhode Island’s libraries and antique shops, seven were printed life size onto open silk banners. They were exhibited in America’s oldest shopping mall, the place where several portraits were originally made. The eighth portrait was a ‘fake’ featuring two contemporary Rhode Islanders: Lynne McCormack and her daughter Maya Chin. For those that spotted a familiar face, this was a visual acknowledgement of those family histories missing from the archives.

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To see how this experience informed future directions Question for Seller and unknownsitter.com

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