STEPHANIE CUNNINGHAM(S)

©2001,  Stephanie Cunningham

Sintra, Digital Prints, Mirror Panels, Steel Mounting Brackets, Plexiglas, Bronze Rod

Installed size: 96 x 8 inches

This project began when an Internet directory search for “Stephanie Cunningham” turned up forty-three national listings. I was curious whether we would share more in common than our name. All were sent a letter inviting their participation. Only two individuals responded.

The form chosen to represent the three individuals consists of open boxes with empty brackets between each box plus one blank box. The twenty-one submitted characteristics are printed on individual panels designed to complement one another in any formation. The viewer places panels into the four boxes, essentially assigning identity to one of the faces or their own. The mirrored blank box vaguely reflects the viewer allowing them to adapt “Stephanie Cunningham” traits. Personal narratives are lost in the shuffle and new ones are invented as the viewer “constructs” each identity.