Thank You - Rob Hengeveld (Victoria)

Roving PROJECTS: Thank You — Rob Hengeveld (Victoria)

Dates: November 21, 2005, to March 18, 2006

Artist's Talk: Saturday, March 11, 2006, at noon

Blog online at http://www.thankyouproject.blogspot.com/.

As part of the Open Space Roving PROJECTS we were happy to present the THANK YOU personal patch project, by Rob Hengeveld, which saw the creation and distribution of one thousand 2" x 3" embroidered patches. The text THANK YOU was embroidered in black onto a background of pink, hunter green, or light blue. These iron-on patches could be put on jackets, hats, or backpacks or simply be exchanged from one person to the next like currency, pinned up with the business cards, slipped into a wallet, or placed into some other context.

These THANK YOU patches were distributed both personally and through a network of different individuals and institutions, including Open Space, which was instrumental in this project. The national and international distribution began in November 2005 and continued on throughout the duration of the project. The blog tracked the circulation of these personal patches and provided an open forum in which all interested could participate in discussions surrounding these familiar words and their use, overuse, or meaning, or loss thereof.

Roving PROJECTS allowed for the introduction of the artist's work and ideas in progress. It was an attempt to extend further the notion of exploration, processes, references and ideas that involve the artists in the creation of art. In these presentations, the various stages of artistic production became an integral part of the work. Projects such as site-related works, performances, readings, workshops, small installations, lectures, and meetings that expand the concepts and notions of art in today's world were encouraged.