I’d like to tell you about a few of the memories I have from the show. Please share yours too!
New Acquisition: a bag of rolled cigarette filters
A couple came in and were so delighted with the exhibit that they felt compelled to leave something behind. This was not an unfamiliar feeling as we had maybe 200 exchanges over the weekend. But this exchange hopefully is a turning point that they had long been coming towards. As the woman had given us her newly purchased and imported bag of cigarette filters she told us that her father had died of smoking. His brand was the same as an empty pack sitting on the shelf way up near the top. When we pulled it down, it was the first time that she cold read the tag. It said “COLD TURKEY December 31st, 2009″
New Acquisition: presta valve
A designer arrived, and taking a cue from the instructions on the window sill, he asked for help finding something that he had lost in life. In trading his “misspent youth” at a drafting table, he wasn’t sure exactly what it was that he wanted back. A blank valentine card, designed in the 70′s seemed to do okay. In exchange, he left us with a presta valve that he had on his key chain for decades(!), but now, he didn’t ride his bike and it was a momento that he decided he was ready to leave forward.
Temporary Acquisition: A white winter wayfinder
A white rabbits foot came in… not attached to a rabbit, thankfully. We catalogued it and it left again as if it had a fox in pursuit. I like to think that two unknown people were connected in that series of actions and they were totally unaware of their near immediate crossing. Only the story attached to that object is something that they both knowingly share, even though their identities are a mystery.
Recently Found: Notes from people with new memories
Below is a series of notes we asked visitors to leave when they took an object without leaving a memory that could be passed on. Some visitors did take these memory notes instead of an object. Here is the story of one such exchange: A woman came in and took a broken lightbulb. Instead of making an exchange with an object, when left us a note that said: “Sometimes I feel like a broken lightbulb”. A few minutes later, another woman came and found that note and exchanged it for another note that told us a story of friendship. She said that the handwriting almost must certainly been that of her friends, even though she lives on the east coast. You can find the broken lightbulb here, and the first note here.
[...] Memories [...]