Love Project

I collect the stories of the everyday person. I like the idea of spontaneously entering someone’s life for a moment, and asking them to tell me something very intimate. Because of the honesty one can have with a stranger, a kind of truthful exchange happens, and then they’re gone. There is an electricity that occurs. People want to tell their story.

Feeling love far from my reach, I began to wonder as I passed people on the street, who is in love. In a state of loss from a recent breakup I embarked on this project to face my own myths about love. Like an anthropologist would, I began to survey. I accosted people I encountered on the street, asking “Who are you in love with?.” Almost everyone I approached agreed to participate in this series called, the LOVE PROJECT. I was struck by the quickness of these strangers to respond so directly, immediately sharing such an intimate part of their life. After hearing my question, one man jumped back to exclaim, “This is like a déjà vu. I was just thinking about love.” Every participant returned the question to me. Upon hearing my answer, they offered condolence, solace and hope to me, even those who had said they never wanted to love again. One man asked me out. The whole exchange lasted usually 15 minutes. We’d then smile, shake hands, sometimes even hug, and move on.

(The project was created in 2002, and includes 25 participants. This site currently shows six.)