In the center of the room, an oblong glass case displayed cluttered souvenirs and tokens collected in the suitcase during its global adventure, as well as the suitcase itself tattered and travel-worn with it’s cardboard packaging as stickered and security-checked as a superstar’s drum-kit on world tour.

Passing into the next room, one wall contained a giant map of the world pointing to all the Place participants’ points of origin. The points, linked to 35 monitors, simultaneously ran looped films by each contributor, showing their personal depictions of the cities in which they live.

The facing wall held a long glass cabinet containing “Place passports” stating a name, hemisphere, and a portrait of each contributor, an element that really drove home the global dimension of the project, and gave the audience a fun personal reference to the artists. A dark room to the side served as a snoozing area for some, and for others as a chance to see the films on a larger screen complete with surround sound.

The last part of the exhibition was a visual rounding-off of the “Place” project. A series of lit-up tube cases, one dedicated to each contributor, displayed the customized t-shirts, and a selection of backlit illustrations from the book. The originality and strength of the artwork combined with the faultless presentation made for a complete and gratifying exhibition experience.

Surprisingly, the theme of “Place”was illustrated not so much through stylistic differences as through overt visual descriptions. Throughout the exhibition, a certain general style purveyed; a testament perhaps, to the power of global design currents in over-riding geographical differences, and of the virtual design world, regardless of physical “Place” as an inspiration.

An edition of two Place books (Actar, 2004) containing selected graphics and a collection of short stories about the cities visited during the project, is available to buy online.

Place exhibition
Date: November 23rd – December 12th, 2004
Place: CCCB
Address: 5 Montalegre, 08001 Barcelona
Tel: +34 93 306 4100
https://www.place.carochejeans.com