A person’s keys can say a lot about them—where they shop, if they drive or bike, and how they organize their life. Consisting of three parts, my project combines my interests in cultural anthropology, interviewing and graphic design to construct multiple portraits of the key from different perspectives.
Part one is a self-portrait to present my unique personal history growing up at the family run motel. I designed a banner of old family photos and graphic icons from the motel. As part of the self-portrait I transported the original key cutting machine from the Viriginia Inn Motel. My dad and I cut keys on opening night of the exhibition in March 2011.
Part two is a group portrait consisting of a large-scale photo mosaic of people's keys. I took a top-view photograph of each keychain in situ and asked them about their keys. Where did this one come from? Do you still shop there? Why are there so many keys on here? See their answers.
Part three is portrait of Beth, creating silkscreen key silhouettes over photographs of all the places Beth’s keys unlock. By pairing her description of utility and place, we get a sense of Beth without having to see her face at all.
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