One late night experimenting in the photo lab at University, I discovered that it was possible to write on a sheet of the photo paper before feeding it through the printer. The result was an unaltered representation of the markings made with the pen overlaid by the photo. In the initial tests it seemed as if the placement of random scribbles and poems was actually intentional. I set about creating a catalogue of images to be made available online that I thought could lend themselves nicely to interpretation, the main criteria being ambiguous and evocative imagery. I then announced through social media that I'd mail a sheet of photo paper and pens to anyone who selected an image, agreed to create something - anything - on the paper using the pens provided, and would cover the cost of returning the completed sketches. I kept the 50 or so eventual volunteers in the dark on where the project would go from there, but in the end it was as simple as printing the photos they selected as inspiration atop their work. The results are fascinating examples of blind collaboration resulting in wonderful collisions of ideas, composition, and creativity.
