Public Displays of Affection
Public Installations:
Independent > Berlin > 2012
Art on the Danforth > Toronto > 2010
Independent > Toronto > 2008 Winner of York University's June-McMaster-Harrision Memorial Prize
Providing subtle moments of affection and mystery, 100 scattered cards across the city invite pedestrians to discover secrets, confessions, and personal messages from an anonymous lover. Hidden in alleyways, bus shelters, and underpasses, those who stumble upon their discrete existence come to ‘stop and discover’. These are two significant moments of intimacy and interaction: ‘to stop’ is to momentary step out of the space of the everyday, and ‘to discover’ is to participate in a fleeting and subtle moment of ‘détournement’, a temporary transformation of space into a place of public affection. Through these cards, PDA attempts to place pedestrians outside the terrain of everyday traffic, and into a site of discovery and shared affection.