Digital billboards help drivers navigate their political world / The Billboard Art Project, Savannah, GA

All photos David Morrison

As part of The Billboard Art Project, 50 artists were on display in Savannah, Georgia over the weekend. I was one of the artists: on display were my faux road signs giving drivers the exact distance from Savannah to various cities of political importance in the Middle East and Africa (Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, West Bank, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lybia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Sudan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Jordan, United Arab Emirats, Syria). The series comprises 32 images.

My intention with the road sign look-alike was to use familiar navigation aids to give people more concrete information about the geo-political world in which they live. I hope it made people look twice and reflect. They were made specially for this.



The photos are a key element in the process of the project. And the documentation is great, thanks to David Morrison who took tons of pictures of the event.
The jpegs I've created of the road-signs alike get all their significance once they are projected on a billboard, in the context of Savannah, GA: the distances in miles are calculated between Savannah and an ensemble of Middle Eastern/African towns.

I absolutely love this. It's like the images initially created really exist once they are projected on the billboard. I hope It will be possible for me to participate again in the future, this is such an amazing opportunity to work on site-specific concepts!





























Participating artists
Anna Bruinsma – Los Angeles, CA, Anne Blix – Richmond, VA, Bernard Klevickas – Long Island City, NY, Beth Crews Rommel – Oviedo, FL, Blake Weld – St. Louis Park, MN, Carrie Lee Schwartz – Folsom, LA, Casey Smallwood – Chicago, IL, Chau Dang – Seattle, WA, Claire Accardo – Richmond, VA, CJ Nye – New York, NY Colin Kidder – Memphis, TN, 8 Compagnons de Route 8 – Antwerp, Belgium & Regensburg, Germany, Damali Abrams – New York, NY, Dan VanLandingham – Martha’s Vineyard, MA, Danny Volk – Chicago, IL, Dawn Hunter – Columbia, SC, Desmal Purcell – Stillmore, GA, Donald Gialanella – Topanga, CA, Elisha Gold – Memphis, TN, Erin Desmond – Los Angeles, CA, Ginny Lloyd – Jupiter, FL, Janice Tieken – Ventura, CA, Jason Miller – Memphis, TN, Jennifer Rarick – Atlanta, GA, Jo Q. Nelson – Long Island City, NY, Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow – Queens, NY, Joseph Ayers – Beacon, NY, Joshua Barber – Richmond, VA, Kathleen Judge – Chicago, IL, Kerry Woo – Nashville, TN, Laura Zaylea – Atlanta, GA, Lori Lipsman – San Diego, CA, Marcellous Lovelace – Kumasi, Ghana, Mardi Linane – Redlands, CA, Michael Krasowitz – Huntington Station, NY, Michele Guieu – Sunnyvale, CA, aNatalie von Loewenfeldt – Savannah, GA, Norma Greenwood – New York, NY, Phillip Hanson – Saginaw, MI, Rachael Gorchov – New York, NY, Rashad Doucet – Savannah, GA, Robert Goodman – Philadelphia, PA, Rosemary Williams – St. Paul, MN, Ruby Hilliard – Savannah, GA, Sarah Farahat – Portland, OR, Scott Allen Motley – Savannah, GA, Stephen Paul Connor – Austin, TX, Subhashis Chakraborty – Kolkata, India, Terry Ward – VA & Brooklyn, NY.

For more information please contact:
David Morrison, curator, founder of The Billboard Art Project
admin@bilboardartproject.com
billboardartproject.com