The Boroughbreds Exhibit
I am the first generation of my family to be born in New York. Daughter of a Haitian father and Irish mother who immigrated to the US with just a bag and no family network. The Lower East Side Co-op apartment we reside in grandfathered us into a New York family. The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” is tried and true and my village grew from the 12th St & Ave B. corner. Quickly my extended family tree mapped itself out like it’s own version of a city grid. The Boroughbreds exhibit, and my senior thesis grew from understanding that even though we resemble our parents genetically, we resemble our environment socially and culturally. I am not from New York, but of New York. I am not merely the sum of my parents, but the product of my place. Genomes from the block passed down from sidewalks or staircases.
Cooper Union Senior Thesis Project 2015
by Robin Giordani
Gallery invite modeled off of New York Lottery scratch card ticket. Over 500 invites were scattered throughout Lower East Side, to attract the Boroughbreds--those unabashed to pick up what is trash or what may be cash.
Maria the Virgin (Portrait of Maria Hoffman), 2015. Fabric created by the placement of a rusting of fence over a blue tarp for the summer months of 2014.
Apollo's Nymph (Portrait of Daphne Rickards), 2015. Gate found on street. Placed in front of Daphne to bring forth the objects feminine form.
Newsstand on Bowery (Unnamed), 2014.
First photograph taken of an ongoing series attempting documenting over 280 newly standardized newsstands under the 2005 New York City DOT's coordinated street furniture act. Within new limitations
Photogravure mapping of Manhattan and Brooklyn affixed to the soles of shoes and printed step by step. The negative space between footprints represented the expansive East River between my two beloved boroughs, and my body--the vessel, became the bridge.
Leather jacket fastened with over 1,200 hand woven can tabs. Exhibited whilst still in progress with the needle and thread attached for for viewers to participate to the process.
Yes, Budweiser cans were provided.
