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tim devin


Flyer project

What special meanings do public places carry for each of us? What would happen if we shared them?

In July 2002, I posted ten flyers in my old neighborhood in Somerville MA. They were designed to like home-made ads: a photo on top, with a typed-up paragraph underneath, and tear-off slips on the bottom. If you glanced at them, you'd think they were trying to sell something.

Each photograph was of the exact spot in front of the viewer; and each paragraph explained a meaningful experience or a daydream I'd had in that spot. I left them vague and anonymous, so anyone could identify with them. At the bottom was a phrase loosely related to the paragraph I'd written; when you ripped one off, it looked like a fortune-cookie fortune.

Some of the flyers were torn down on the first day; others stayed up for two or three weeks. Most of the rip-off slips were gone within a week.

Location: Somerville MA

Date: 2002


Flyers