Title: “Sticky” (working title)
Media: Multi-media.
Materials/Technique: Posters, book, stickers.
Dimensions: Variable.
Date: In progress.
Number of editions: –
Statement:

Sticky is a collaborative endeavor by artist Gabriel Sosa and myself. It considers messages found on bumper stickers and window decals in Boston and Havana. From this point of departure, we explore the unique characteristics of these mobile messages on cars bodies and windows, the persistent relevance of printed text in the virtual age and the blurred boundaries between utopia, dystopia, and reality during the weird times we are living.

This project was born out of an exchange of photographs between us, taken during our daily commutes in our respective cities. We have noted that bumper stickers have the same purpose with regards to communication in both cities. However, the topics they convey are completely different; messages of a political and activist nature in Boston and of a more individual, popular and playful content in Havana. 

The final result of our research and collaboration will be:

– A hardcover book that compiles the hundreds of photographs taken by us in Boston and Havana.

– A “sticker pack” featuring stickers and labels designed by us by mixing the messages found in each city and adding new texts in order to achieve a new idea.   

– A series of drawing/collages interpreting the contents of the original bumper stickers. These will be digitized to be shown as posters.

Our goals are to analyze the communicative relationship between individuals and public space through bumper stickers and window decals found on local automobiles, and incentivize the viewer to consider the social role of bumper stickers and their implications more closely.