Allison Hunter
:: Signmakers :: 2003 :: Computer vinyl print ::
:: Signs: 24 x 24 in. (61 x 61 cm.), mounted at approximately 8 ft. (2.4 m.) ::

:: Kati Together ::
:: Anne I'm complicated but everything is organized ::
:: Risto Upwards, forwards ::
:: Johannes A cat lives at home and in nature ::
:: Jani Train ::

 T he SIGNMAKERS:
Pirkkala project involved public participation as well as a permanent physical installation. The work began with the gracious
participation of five Pirkkala residents whose first names--Jani, Kati, Anne, and Johannes, appear in the titles of the five pieces installed around the park's lake. Each participant responded to a short interview during which they were asked to make a series of decisions and have their digital portrait taken. The decisions included choosing a sign shape, two colors, and a symbol. The symbols were based on fifty stick-figure drawings from of American Hobo graffiti. Hoboes were Depression-era homeless people who roamed the country on foot and illegally on freight trains. They used symbols as a secret language to communicate danger, safety, and even specific advice such as "religious talk will get you a free meal here." Pirkkala participants chose a symbol which, without knowing the original meaning, they defined in their native tongue, Finnish. This definition became the second half of the title (followed by an English translation). The participants' decisions, along with their headshot (which I digitally manipulated in the graphic style of a pictogram) were used to create the vinyl prints over each road sign.

SIGNMAKERS: Pirkkala is part of an ongoing project called SIGNMAKERS. Four
SIGNMAKERS projects have been installed in Lithuania, Latvia, the US, and Finland, since 1999. 

www.allisonhunter.com
www.allisonhunter.com/Signmakers/SignmakersFI.html