day thirty-eight
Gillian Wearing CBE, "Signs that Say What You Want Them To Say and Not Signs that Say What Someone Else Wants You To Say,”1992–3
Gillian Wearing first attracted public acclaim when she exhibited this series of photographs at City Racing, a small artist-run gallery in London in 1993. […] Standing in a busy area of South London, Wearing stopped passers-by and asked them to write down what was on their mind. With their permission, she then photographed them holding their statement.
The complete series of Signs is comprised of over fifty colour photographs. A broad cross-section of people participated in the photographs and the series provides a fascinating social and historical document. It refers to the economic decline in Britain in the early 1990s, manifested by statements such as ‘Will Britain get through this recession?’. However most of the signs express intimate thoughts or personal convictions. [source]
Gillian Wearing CBE from “Signs that Say What You Want Them To Say and Not Signs that Say What Someone Else Wants You To Say,”1992–3