Wishes by Mail

As a different way of collecting wishes, I sent letters to many people, some of whom I know, and many people I didn’t know.  I included an explanation of my project with the following choices: 1. Everyone can read my wish;  2. Only Seiko can read my wish; and 3. No one can read my wish, inviting individuals to mark one choice.  I also included wrinkled paper for people to write wishes on. I did not have any expectations as to what my response rate would be.  I received about an 80 % rate of response which was very encouraging.  Everyone’s paper knot was pressed beautifully in the envelope, like pressed flowers; some people included their ideas using another element such as thread.  Some people included notes with their wishes.  I was very inspired by the uniqueness of these wishes.  In the gallery space, I installed the letter responses and the wish ties on the wall in the form of a grid, calling it “Wishes by Mail.”  The audience was in physical contact with the installation. I put up a sign: “If the letter says that you can read the wish you can untie, read, and put it back please.”  In the beginning, people hesitated to touch the artwork, but, later, they seemed to enjoy opening wishes.  At the reception, I heard a woman scream.  She showed me what she found inside of someone’s wish paper.  It was a “wish bone.”  She explained to me the American custom of breaking them to make wishes.  This is a really cross-cultural experience for me, because I was taught how American people make a wish. (I screamed quietly).