Pinhole Parcel Project
Mike Thompson and Jamie House collaborated to create the “Pinhole Parcel Project,” which started in 2005 and still continues today. The project documents an experiment with pinhole cameras that will be exposed throughout it’s journey through the mail. Every trace of light the camera encounters during its journey through the mail is recorded on the photographic negative, creating highly unpredictable, abstract imagery. It takes days, maybe even weeks depending where you live in the world for mail to arrive at a destination, so sometimes these pinhole cameras are being exposed for hundreds of hours!
Here is how it works:
- Take a can (any soda can, soup can, etc)
- Document the place you found the can by taking a picture with a digital camera (72 dpi) and emailing it to the Pinhole Parcel Project people at info@pinholeparcelproject.com. Include details of the date, location of the can, and country.
- Send the can in the mail, put a return address (important) to:
Pinhole Litter Project
1 oxford Villas
St Stephens
Saltash
Cornwall
England
PL12 4AP - Pinhole Parcel Project will convert the can into a pinhole camera and return it to you.
- When you get the can (now a pinhole) back, place the camera on the ground where you found it originally.
- Open the black tape shutter, (don’t touch camera while exposing) and expose for 40 seconds in direct sunlight or 4 minutes on an overcast day or in the shade.
- Place the shutter back on, and send the camera back to Pinhole Parcel Project for processing of the image.
It’s really an ingenious idea. In November of 2005, images from the first 18 months of the project were exhibited at Euroart Studios, Tottenham, London. A selection of these can be viewed on the Pinhole Parcel Project website. Send in your can today to join in on the experiment!