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Random Histories was
created in the town of Zadar on the Dalmation coast of Croatia as part
of ÔIntermuros: the Zadar Uzivo festival of site specific installations
and performances' curated by Iva-R. Jankovic, 16-24th August, 2002. It
was an attempt to facilitate an exchange between visiting tourists and
the local population that could provide an insight into spaces in the
city. Tourists were approached in the central square and asked to take
a few photographs as they walked around the town, of places or objects
that they found to be curious or somehow unusual to them. After printing
the results, each picture was taken to the place where it was photographed
and a local resident was asked to comment on their personal experience
and knowledge of those spaces, so offering information and personal histories
of the town, that could not be found in any tourist guide. Each photograph
was printed twice, made to fit the size and appearance of a standard touristic
postcard and had the localsÕ responses printed on the reverse side. One
copy of the postcard was sent to the home address of the tourist who took
the picture, and another was exhibited publicly, alongside the full collection
of pictures and comments, in a specially constructed postcard stall located
in one of the central squares. In this context it was of interest to both
tourists, who were able to gain alternative histories about the town they
were visiting, and locals, who were able to see and reflect on how outsiders
view their town. |