A KIND OF ONE OF A KIND

A Kind of One of a Kind investigates sentiment, value, memory and identity.

When attachment is formed through sentiment, is it placed on the object itself, the moment it memorializes, and/or the narratives created in relation? We base much of our conceptual identity on autobiographical memories. As the memorial storyline attached to a sentimental object is re/repeated over time, how does this affect/effect identity? Can memorialized moments be accurately remembered or do they become autobiographical fables?

For one day, I set up a pop-up photo studio/production line in a public institution's hallway. I asked collaborators to bring one small sentimental object that they had previously tried to let go of and couldn’t using previous signage. Upon arrival, collaborators were individually asked to give their name, mailing address, and object to me. They were then seated in the studio’s “production line,” and asked to make a short audio recording of why the object held sentimental value to them, while I took a studio portrait of the object. I put the images captured on a laptop and together we chose what we thought was the most flattering portrait of their subject. I shared I was going to make two postcards for each story - with the chosen image on the front, and their transcribed story on the back - and, once printed, I would post one postcard to them, and keep one for the project. At the end of the production line, they were given the option to add their sentimental object to a collection box for charitable donation, or keep it. The cards were printed, one copy has been shown in the same hallway the image was captured, the other mailed to the collaborator.