you can never go home again

Chris and I would like to take the time to share the thematic direction in which we are directing the Berlin version. Here below, we have a portion of what we co-wrote to the artists. We have already seen one piece come back, have a few tomorrow, and the remainder coming in early Thursday. We'll post some news as it becomes worthy. - Jonny

[ps - we may or may not publish the photo series we took of each other to create elements for the postcard. Part mugging, part Irene Kai, part smut. We'll see.]

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You can never go home again

The title of the show refers to an American cliché, which proposes that as we move through life our assertion of what is "home" invariably changes. Many of you are not native to Berlin, Germany, or Europe itself. Some of you may have been born and raised here. You represent a typically diverse population of a large metropolis. We are interested in the proximity or distance, both cultural and emotional, from what you consider home.

Your task is to reflect on what home means to you. Where do you come from, and where do you find yourself now? Discover how your partner expresses these reflections and incorporate them. Your piece should claim a unified idea of home, or the absence of home. How do you answer the questions, 'Where are you from' and 'What is your home?' As the process develops, you should try to recognize what you and your partner have in common as artists and as people.

Some initial ideas that popped into our heads as traditional forms of expressing a unified home included flags, banners, badges, coats of arms, and currency. More modern forms of expressing identity [for everyone, not just artists] include self-portrait photography, avatars, logos, icons, emoticons [:P, :>/, etc.]. Think about how you already use visual shorthand to present yourself and how your friends, family, and colleagues do too.

We encourage you to present yourselves using your own unique set of symbols, colors, materials, and styles. Feel free to reference recognizable symbols and their common associations, but please be creative and utilize your own iconography and/or reimagine common symbolism. Remember to communicate your ideas with your partner throughout the creative process -- without using words.

We encourage you to be confident not timid, bold but not antagonistic, thoughtful but not passive.