You’re a Winner – 2005 – 2014
Letters and Documents, Paint, Timber, Wood Bark, LED Light
Confined by promises of opportunity and success, ideas of luxury are constructed and re-presented, blurring boundaries between fact and fiction. The installation re-creates Robert Holland’s extensive archive of letters and documents, framing the narrative of one mans descent into obsession and madness.
Over a period of seven years I contacted companies, organisations and individuals who promised wealth and prosperity. Many claiming to offer millions of pounds as well as spiritual deliverance, love, personal development, the ability to ‘take control’ and to follow what is promised by ‘destiny.’ I also contacted individuals and families who had been bombarded with or fallen victim to such offers and instruction, collecting an extensive archive of examples of the kinds of propositions that had been made. The documents collected, whether dealing with financial or spiritual matters, all play on hope and belief, our willingness, our ‘responsibility’ to recognise and seize opportunity.
You’re a Winner explores how ideas of luxury are constructed in contrast with economic realities. To what extent are notions of self formed by external influence, and how has the cult of personality shaped ideas of popularity and material desire?