A Project about Myself - A Time-Based Reflective and "Graffiti" Project on Receipts
Collecting receipts has always been part of my habit. 'The Time Project' is a consecutive endeavor that consists of engaging in the same art practice daily, creating a reflection on the world around my life based on the receipts I receive from purchases.
Berkeley Law defines a receipt as any document that contains five IRS-required elements: the name of the vendor, the transaction date, a detailed description of the goods or services purchased, the amount paid, and the form of payment. Like how your diet might show who you are, the elements of the receipt are great reflections on who I am as a person. "Sometimes, the best way to strengthen an idea is to present the exact opposite(Mary Stewart)." The marked line is a discussion of privacy. It is a conversation about hidden and shared information.
My project comprises two major components. In the first part, I will use a black marker to strike through or cross out information on the receipts, transforming these ordinary objects into something more. In the second part, I will analyze the transformed art piece using both objective and subjective criticism.
Capabilities
The objective criticism will focus on artistic elements such as the balance of composition and the degree of unity. This is a helpful exercise to improve my abstract painting skills, where the content of the receipt dictates the boundaries of creation and pushes me to find the best artistic combination. In my reflections, I will record the process of how I make aesthetic decisions and choices.
The subjective criticism will reflect on the meaning of the crossed-out information and its relationship to cultural events. It will explore the nature of the receipt as a unique form of documentation that captures a part of my identity and the current society. While receipts already censor private information such as social security and credit card numbers, I still choose to cross out certain details. This leads me to question why I feel the need to obscure this information even further when sharing it with others. What am I afraid to share? Is this fear personal or universal? Where is the line between what can be shown and what must remain hidden?