#Letter365 – The Installation
David Smith’s #Letter365 is one of the most original and almost certainly unique art events in the UK if not the world. The installation at Bridport Arts Centre, which runs from 7th March to 11th April 2015, marks the culmination of a project which has been unfolding over the last year, with a new, individual artwork being created each and every day since 7th March 2014.
Wherever he might have been, every day David has made a piece of work from scratch, sealed it in an envelope and, before midnight, arranged for its delivery, usually by post, to Bridport Arts Centre where all the envelopes remained unopened awaiting the exhibition. The catch is that each work will remain unseen until it is sold. Buyers can choose a randomly selected day, or by paying little extra they can choose a specific date, perhaps an anniversary or birthday, as a gift for themselves or someone special. Not only do purchasers get the artwork (and envelope) created that day they are also getting a small part of the bigger work that is #Letter365.
And what is inside each envelope? It could be a work in any medium from drawing to collage, painting to photography. Whatever it is David guarantees that it is a totally original one-off created substantially from scratch on the day stated.
Much of David’s work explores the interplay between chaos and control, emotion and the intellect, the seen and the unseen, and this work is no different. The envelopes are arranged in an ordered grid which is disrupted and disturbed by the sold pieces being opened out and the contents displayed. Some of his other work is also on show to help place #Letter365 into a wider context.
#Letter365 will continue to evolve through the duration of the exhibition. Every Saturday any additional pieces sold that week will be opened and displayed, so the audience can influence the process and progress of the work by their buying choices. Even though the cost of a day is intentionally pitched very low, it is not expected that every piece will sell, and so an auction of the remaining works will be held towards the end of the show to allow even more works to be opened and shown. Any that fail to sell will be publicly burned at the end of the show. So there should be new and interesting things happening throughout the duration of the show. To keep informed of what is going on check out the blog where David is documenting the project http://letter365.co.uk/