My evolution as a visual artist and deep concerns about our environment has led me to investigate recycled materials further, and to find ways of self expression that echo my observations about consumerism, ownership, transience, and ecology. I collect materials such as metal bottle caps, plastic packing material, cardboard, 6-pack yokes, tissue and wax paper, newspaper, and aluminum foil. From these materials I create flowers connected together to create dense “carpets” of paper blossoms, or chain-mail wall hangings, and origami sculptures.

However, it is my connection to the world of finance that has birthed my most personal and social/political project.  I own Focus + Finance, a small firm providing financial services to creative people. Part of the work we do is recording expenses. We scan receipts – those thin mementos of things we desired, purchased, consumed, and sometimes gifted. For the past two years I have saved all my receipts; these recordings of my life. I folded them into small florettes and attached them to a matrix made using plastic 6-pack yokes to create a large screen. Many of these purchases were food. Some were items I coveted for a long time; some were things I thought I wanted and now no longer own. 

Looking at the massive amounts of receipts, the representation of time passing and evidence of my existence – after all "I SHOP, therefore I AM" – I wonder if others every stop to look back on their purchases. What can a stranger discover from looking at the contents of my receipts?  If they unfold a little florette, what does it say about me and my life at the time I made the purchase? Do I want anyone to know how I spent my money, and how much I spent? What if the purchase is intently private; I cannot tell because the receipt contents are now hidden in the folds of the florette, a mystery.

This project has been exhibited in Berlin several times, most recently in December 2016 at LiTE-HAUS Galerie in Berlin - which I  founded as both gallery and project space for my work in April 2016. This Page Intentionally Left Blank is an ongoing project. 

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

THE I LOVE YOU PROJECT® - an interactive social visual art project celebrating diversity – returns to Berlin, Germany June 28-July 12. The multi-media art installation including video, sound, and photos will be on exhibit at Where Is Jesus in Kreuzberg. Participants from prior events including Berlin, Frankfurt, Giessen and Barcelona will be on display. New videos, photos, and voices recordings will be captured on June 28 12:00 - 19:00 using new participants. Please come on this day to be recorded! New York-based Debbie Davies uses a digital microscope camera in this experimental, collaborative project.  Davies will videotape visitors saying “I Love You” in different languages during the exhibition with the intention of bringing together residents in multi-cultural Kreuzberg. This exhibition is part a global initiative exploring migration and diversity and uniting people within communities by expressing love within the context of a visual art form. Music composition is created by Germany-based Julius Schön. 

Exhibition title:  THE I LOVE YOU PROJECT: Kreuzberg
Location:  Where is Jesus, Wrangelstrasse 57, Berlin, Germany 10997
Contact: debbie@theiloveyouproject.net or whereisjesus@outlook.com

Dates & Times. 
June 28 12:00 - 19:00   exhibition and photo-video-audio recording of new participants. THIS IS THE ONLY DAY WE WILL RECORD PEOPLE.
June 28 , June 30  to July 5, July 7 to July 12 11:00 - 22:00  exhibition and video screenings ONLY. (Closed Sundays)

Where is Jesus is a multi-use venue that hosts art and cultural events including exhibitions, projects, music, and screenings. Beverages and light fare are served in this intimate modern space which has become popular in Kreuzberg since March 2012. The space will be converted into a gallery and screening space to exhibit photos, video, and sound installation. We will record new participants in their glass enclosed sound booth.

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Debbie Davies