WISH/REGRET

       
                   
                   

I was nearing the end of the DYMO Project and wanted to work on another large scale photo project and needed a good idea pronto. My friend Simone always comes up with the best ideas so I asked her if she had any to spare. She said, 'Why not 3 Wishes?' That sounded interesting, nice and invasive. But how the hell do you photograph one wish never mind three for each person? Right away 3 got whittled down to 1. Smithsonian Magazine (Do I really need to tell you that it was Simone's Smithsonian?) was doing a piece on mugshots and that seemed like an appropriate vehicle for wishes and regrets, so now I'm heading over to the York Police Department to find out where you can buy mug shot paraphernalia . Just so you know, those mug shot boards take forever to set up. Not so much of a problem for me, but I can't imagine the police laboring away with the numbers and letters surrounded by John Wayne Gacy and friends. So, getting back to the project. Armed with my height chart, mugshot board and the trusty Hasselblad, I head out, asking everyone and their brother to make a soul baring wish and let me take a mugshot. I thought it was hard to convince 100 people to slap a DYMO label on their forehead. Try convincing a 100 people to let them take their mugshot, that they probably won't look their best in. I mean, I love how the mugshots look, but glamor shots their not. Good times for everyone! I could feel my popularity dwindling daily. Right away it becomes clear that the wishes have none of the intimacy of the DYMO thoughts. Too big, too politically correct and altruistic. Granola, granola, granola and more well adjusted granola. Someone get me a gun. Off I head, back to Simone for some wish fine tuning. She says, 'What about regrets? no one can be too Pollyanna with regrets.' Sure' nuff she was right.


WISH/REGRET Installation Photos: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

lulu329@maine.rr.com