TEXT RESPONSES

I thought there might be some curious minds out there, who might be wondering if one received any text messages in response to everyONE is looking for someONE… As you know, whilst one was trying to look for one, one left a series of messages in red envelopes.

WHO ARE YOU LOOKIG FOR?
5/6/10
I was here at (insert time).
I waited for you.
I looked for you amongst the crowd.
But I couldn’t find you….
(if you find this message please text…)

All in all, one left a total of 12 such messages, inside red envelopes, scattered across Brighton city centre: on benches, on railings, on lamp posts, etc… So, below you will find the texts one received….

05/06/2010
13:54 Found your note. What is it for?
15:55 I saw you, i was there. You went away without saying hello.
16:16 Hello! I couldn’t find you either, but i did find your message. I’m James, who are you? Xx
16:21 I’ve found your friend! On Bond St. Ruby x
16:22 I found your letter
17:33 I found your message today while walking home. This is all very mysterious. So I’m texting you.
18:17 Thank you
22:57 Found your note got da mssge

Then, to one’s surprise there was one more message that only arrived yesterday!

13/06/2010
18:27 Hey thought you’d want to know i found your letter last week a couple of hours after you left it. If i’d known you were looking for me i would have got there sooner

All those individuals who texted received the same reply on the following day:

Hello, thank you very much for your text yesterday. You were a small part of Accidental Collective’s new performance project: everyONE is looking for someONE. If you would like to find out more, please email info@accidentalcollective.co.uk Thanks!

So far only one person has been in touch. Here is the email she sent:

Dear people/person running this project,I was asked to say something about my experience so here it is:I was on my way back from my writing group and had already randomly run into a couple of people I knew unexpectedly so I was in a particularly good mood, when I saw the red envelope tied to the bench. I first thought it looked like a romantic token since red is often the colour of romance, but since it seemed to be there for anyone to look at it I went to read the card inside. The "Who are you looking for" and "I waited but you did not come" messages were intriguing though I assumed they were meant for everyone to read rather than one person since it was in a public area. I had a few thoughts on why the card might have been left there.... I thought it was perhaps someone looking for new friends in an inventive way, someone looking for romance (although they were taking a bit of a chance since anyone could have replied), a TV or student project, or maybe the comedian and writer Danny Wallace since I've read a couple of his books and he seems to do this sort of thing all the time. Anyway I wouldn't normally have actually replied and I didn't at first, but as I was walking away I noticed a middle aged woman come up to the bench. So I sat down on the grass and watched her take out her phone to ring someone... maybe you... after reading it. Then since I was in a particularly good mood, it was a lovely sunny day, and I wasn't going to be beaten by a middle aged woman, I went back, stored the number in my phone, and texted after all.Then went home and told everyone on facebook all about it. So far I have had 3 comments, one thinking it was creepy, one thinking it was either creepy or lovely, and one comparing it to the film message in a bottle (which I haven't actually seen).Hope this helps with your project,Have a lovely Sunday,Solera.

everyONE's looked in Brighton

So picture this...

It is midday...

The sun is at its peak...

At the zenith of the mornings sojourn into the afternoon...

Two identically dressed figures figures exit a small stationers on a street in Brighton. Their bowler hats and plain black suits speak of business, intention, sobriety... except from the dinnerplate sized, apparently spray-painted, targets emblazoned high up on their backs.

Their simple black briefcases and air of purpose means that as they part on the steps of the stationers with scarcely a word and nothing so unnecessary as a pause, you hardly notice.

But it, in its silent and covert way, has begun.

For the following five hours these two characters saught only one thing... To re-unite.

But how easy is such a task? In days of mobile phones and internet surely finding OneAnother should be easy.

The other thing those identical costumes scream of is an older world (minus the painted targets, obviously), a world of Victorian Bankers, Pre-war Politicians...

As such these two, who are ONE to ONE another, have no mobile phones, GPS and only a shaky outline of the geography of the city by the sein in which they find themselves.

In fact... The only things these characters have are: a biro, a notebook, camera, blank postcards, red envelopes, string, chalk and a clipboard bearing a picture of their opposite number.

In short - Nothing of use.

So 5 hours, limited resources and noticable fashion sense (even in Brighton on a hot Saturday afternoon in June) collude to create a basis for an evening performance these two are appointed to present... but before they get to this, they must look for one another. How hard can that be?

One started by strolling towards the sea front. One thought that One might have been drawn there by the crowds, the noise, the cool breeze...

No luck.

In the exposed midday heat One did get a little warm.

Turning inland and threading back towards the place One lost another, crossing the face of a shopping centre it happened.

Unexpectedly, One was there.

A photo

a chalked date/time marked on the floor

a picture, taken by a passer-by

Few words

Gone again...

meandering downhill One spoke to a street vendor. Sat by his wares in a deckchair... he hadnt seen One. He took a card and promised to get in touch if he saw One.

He's looking for noONE... I told him EveryONE's looking for SomeONE.

One repeated the same with Kat on Gardener Street. She worried i was a weirdo.
She took a card though and said she'd get in touch if she saw One...
I'm not sure she was committed.

Wandering, marking times, noting turns, Street names, people One spoke to.

One Left a message for One on a bicycle in Meeting house Lane.

"I waited here for you...

You didnt show up...

I smoked a cigarette...

in Vain..."

Sealed in a red envelope with a number to call, tied on with plain, grey, string.

One wandered.

One met another once more that day.

Same process as before complete with a stranger taking their picture. It was outside The Bath Store.

The dozen or so people One spoke to were polite, engaged and helpful.

One baked in a black suit with a target painted on One's back.

...

As the afternoon turned into evening One found One and they took to a Pit in a Basement venue on Kensington Street...

Anarchic attempts at relaying their experiences, spread across an urban environment, a mini-sea-shore-city unfold.

One is factual, pedantic, plodding.

One in procative, easily distracted, forgetful.

Reviewing photos, notes and concepts, Reviewing experiences, messages people had text and voice-mailed... trying to let them understand how one felt, how one thought, how one survived, got noticed or ignored...

Whether anyone was any the wiser by the time these two One's had finished did not seem to matter... with splatter marked pockets of information, thoughts and ideas sprayed all over the audience... with an example of the simple un-defined way in which EveryOne's looking for SomeONE presented and exposed to the world... Everyone applauded, said nice things...

One and One's brains were already ticking onwards...

My journey....

Here are my notes of the journey I took through the streets of Canterbury last Friday (21/05/10) as part of our trial run of everyONE is looking for someONE. One of the ‘rules of the game’ is that we are not allowed to carry maps to navigate the urban landscape. Instead, like purposeful flâneurs, we rely on chance, instinct and directions given by people whom we meet along the way. Therefore, these notes will be vital when it comes to trace our respective routes during the evening ‘performance’. Unlike Rick I did not write down the times, which is something I will certainly do in Brighton in order to make the ‘narrative’ easier to follow.

So without further ado, here are my notes. The journey lasted between 12:15pm and 16:15pm. By all means feel free to take a pen and trace it onto a map of Canterbury…

St. Margaret’s Street left into High Street; left into Memorial Garden; left into High Street; straight into St. Peter’s Street; left into St. Peter’s Place; left into Tower Way; left into Black Griffin Lane; right into St. Peter’s Street; straight into High Street; right into Stour Street; back on myself and right into Beer Cart Lane; straight into Watling Street; right into Dane John Gardens; across the park; right into Castle Row; through the green; right into Castle Street; straight into St. Margaret’s Street; right into Marlowe Arcade; left into Rose Lane; right into the Parade; straight into St. George’s Street; left into Canterbury Lane; left into Burgate; left into Mercery Lane; right onto High Street; left into Stour Street; right into Greyfriars’ Garden; around the gardens; left into Stour Street; right into High Street; left into Guildhall Street; right into Sun Street; straight into Burgate; right into Iron Bar Lane; right onto the Parade; straight into High Street; right into Best Lane; right into Orange Street; right into Guildhall Street; left into High Street; straight into the Parade; straight into St. George’s Street; right into Whitefriars, right into Gravel Walk; through Rose Square; straight into Marlowe Arcade; right into St. Margaret’s Street; left into Memorial Garden; right into the Parade; right into Rose Lane; straight into Marlowe Avenue; straight into Dane John Gardens; through the park; straight into St. George’s Lane; left into St. George’s Street; straight into the Parade; right into Mercery Lane. THE END

All in all I left six messages. On the envelopes I wrote: “FOR YOU”. Inside, I placed postcards that said: “I was here at (insert time). I waited. You didn’t come. I looked for you, but couldn’t find you.” Then, with a little bit of string, I carefully tied the envelopes onto benches, railings, or posts.

I did meet Rick twice: once at the beginning of the day, and once at the very end of our journeys.

And, after a few failed attempts, I managed to take pictures of eight people. A big, big thank you goes out to all of them.

Pablo

Intertextuality, perhaps?

I have been thinking about our latest work, or rather, IT has been haunting me. The image of these two solitary figures, sticking out like sore thumbs in the urban environment… Black bowler hat. Black briefcase. Black suit. Black shoes…

everyONE is looking for someONE

Isn’t this very Samuel Beckett? The pointlessness of it! A desolate sense of hope to find one another. And of course the bowler hats. Yes, very Vladimir and Estragon.

Isn’t this very Gilbert and George? The fun of it! A tongue in cheek intervention into unsuspecting people’s everyday life. And of course the matching suits. Yes, very living sculpture.

Isn’t this very Rene Magritte? The absurdity of it! A surreal sense of wonderment. And of course, again, the bowler harts. Yes, very Gloconda.

It seems that with this new piece we are referencing, subconsciously to a degree, a vast body of historic works. Intertextuality ear your heart out! The question is how this might become manifest in the evening ‘performance’. The piece is beautifully simple on the surface (two men trying to find each other), but infinitely complex underneath. What a fantastic starting point…

Pablo

everyONE is looking for someONE

It's been a while, but don't think Accidental Collective's brain hasn't been ticking away...

As part of Basement Arts, Brighton, Accidental Collective are producing something new.

Whilst ostensibly an evening performance the contents of that performance will be shaped by One and Another's trials and tribulations as they sought each other out earlier that day, in Brighton City centre.

Taking meticulous records of times, places, people they met, One and Another will create an ephemeral web of movements, acts and interventions around Brighton City centre.

The revelation of how successful (or not) this was will be told as the whole thing unravels in front of a live audience in the evening performance.

Though....

Accidental Collective thought it might be best to have a think about this and maybe try it out.

As such we took to the streets of our hometown of Canterbury last Friday (21/5/10) to get a sense of what worked, what didn't, how far could you ask people to go..? how far could we go?

Dressed as extras from The Thomas Crown Affair, One and Another parted ways on St Margret's Street. Briefcases, black shoes, bowler hats...

"Hi, I'm looking for this guy... (shows picture). Have you seen him?

(Giggling) "ermm... no. sorry"

"Are you just heading into town now?"

"We are... we're going shopping"

"So you'll be in town for a while?.. i only ask cos if you see him, it'd be great if you could let him know you saw me... could you do that?"

(more giggling)"... I guess..."

"Brilliant... now if you'd (produces camera) like to say cheese.."

TAKES PICTURE

"and sign this form.... just to say you know we wont do anything outrageous with the picture...

SHE SIGNS

"Okay guys, that's great... please do let him know you've seen me... "

Okay, as an engagement this needs work.

How do we get them involved?

Is this a giant game of hide and seek where the seekers don't know One or Another, each other... and the hiders are always in plain sight...

How else can they have fun with this?

How else can they help shape the evenings relation of events to a live audience..? One Another, together for the first time...

maps, urban space and looking for someone...

Accidental Collective have been thinking....

Who are you looking for?

With that thought in mind, Accidental Collective are taking to the streets of Brighton.

One will be looking for Another. Leaving messages, marks, in an attempt to

time´s running out

in mere moments i am making my way upstairs to start dismantling the logic of this piece of work......

There should now be a large and mishapen, re-made map of the world.... i have stopped listening to Chilean radi0, BBCworldservice is now switched off.... its just me, the laptop glow and the distant sound of "its a small world after all"....

dark times.....

Internaional is big

International is small

international is one

international is many

International is near

international is far!

international is an ideal

internationa is a front

international is people

international is contact

international is sharing

international is presenting

international is problematic

international is life

international is natural

international is scary

international is kind