Hunt for the Lost
Hunt for the Lost (2020) was a public art project provoking discourse around “the lost.” Materializing as an open-ended scavenger hunt, participants were asked to look for metaphorical and physical things that bear personal significance. Items include: “lost courage,” “lost heart,” and “lost forest.” “Lost____” signs were designed and displayed on Governors Island NYC, playing off political campaign signage. Submitted “found” items from participants were collected and curated on the website, creating an alternative world of the “found.”
Hunt for the Lost involved considering what we have recently lost and what it might take to find what has been lost. It created an alternative discussion before and after the 2020 presidential election as counterpoint to the politically inflammatory exchanges current in the fall before the vote. This project isn’t just for artists. It’s for anyone struggling with current realities. Can you imagine an alternate reality?
Lost Forests Found:
This collaboration with Mario Requelme (videographer) involved capturing drone footage on Governor’s Island. Views capture Rahmani’s artwork and signage from a range of angles and distances as the drone explores the island. The accompanying score is Rahmani’s own voice.
Signage and Branches on Governor’s Island, NYC
The full complement of signage was installed until Nov. 1 2021 and The blued branch assemblage for Lost Forest was also up until Nov. 1.
Participating by Social Media or Email
Lost Birds
The public were invited to take part by responding to a number of different prompts and take (or make) a picture, record a sound, journal, or recount the story of their hunt and use the #huntforthelost tag on Facebook or Instagram.
Some of the most popular responses are shown below, for the prompts of Lost Birds, Lost Forest and Lost Hearts, but for a full list of all responses please download this PDF.
Michael Markham Fire Bird Branding Iron, 18.5 inches in length Image, 4 inches (wing tips)
Aviva Rahmani A Beautiful View #7, 2010 Aquatint Print
Nora Nostrand Lost Birds, 2016 Harlem, NYC
Lost Forest
Lost Heart
Ayaka Fujii Receipt from Momo Sushi Shack, 2020 Bushwick, New York
Michael Markham Maze, 1996 acrylic on plywood 4x4 ft.
Judith Mayer
Participating by Post
The last phase of the Hunt for the Lost project involved inviting participants to send their images or messages using the below template.
Blog
For further reading please download Rahmani’s blog for this project by downloading this PDF with the original blog articles dating from September 2020 to January 2021.