Student Exhibit Asks Visitors to 'Write Home Soon'

By Alexandra Klingelhut

“Lost” items have been on display in the University Student Commons student art space for the past month. It is not a traditional lost and found, however. The displayed items are postcards of memories, feelings, places and things that individuals have lost, possibly for good. The postcards are the brainchild of a Virginia Commonwealth University student, who wanted the audience to build the exhibit.

Mark Strandquist, a photography and sociology student, produced the interactive art display, "Write Home Soon," which makes visitors part of the exhibit. Blank postcards are available for visitors to draw, write or paint on, and serve as a blank canvas for whatever each individual thinks is lost to him.

“The postcards are all anonymous, so not only can participants safely purge, condemn or open up, but the lack of identity and authorship allows for those viewing the exhibit to create their own meanings and associations," Strandquist said. "You look at a card and you can think; ‘This could be my mom, my partner, a friend from second grade, etc.’ it’s really important for the project to allow space for these associations.”

The exhibit displays postcards depicting and describing a place — physical, mental, metaphoric — that an individual can no longer access. Whether viewers choose to participate and submit a postcard or just stand back and observe, they become connected with the idea and with one another.

“The creation of the work is participatory, but so is the exhibition. By picking up a postcard, you participate in the creation of the meaning, you tangibly connect to these memories and personal truths,” said Strandquist, who wants the project to create a democratized monument to all our collective histories. A monument not built from white marble, but from people's histories and social interactions.

“Every individual featured in this project has a unique and challenging story," he said. "Our society simply rarely listens. What I'm interested in is questioning how our libraries, museums, textbooks … would differ if they reflected the visions and memories of our local populations.”

Hundreds of people have sent in their postcards, many of which are currently on display in the Commons. The exhibit runs through Feb. 23. 

Before coming to the university, the project was part of an international exhibit at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C. The Socially Engaged Art exhibit showcases international work that incorporates viewers as direct participants, addresses pressing social issues and blurs the boundary between artistic practice and social engagement. 

For more information on "Write Home Soon," visit http://nomovement.com/Write-Home-Soon.

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