Artist Statement
        For this project I choose to incorporate aspects of regular mail that I enjoy as well as aspects internet mail phenomenon that have become popular and interesting in recent times.
        In regular to mail, I enjoy the receiving of gifts and cards. It doesn’t have to be something elaborate the simple act of receiving these things, symbolises to me that the person was thinking about me in a positive way. This knowledge results in positive feelings within myself.
        Internet mail phenomenon that has interested me has been the Post-Secret craze. Starting with the original Post-Secret, where in people mail their secrets anonymously through regular mail to a single person, and this person in turn posts them on the internet, has resulted in art exhibits, books and many spin off websites.
        In transferring these ideas to the world of email, I wanted to do a few things. First I wanted to eliminate the sense of anonymity felt by the secret maker. The easiest and most logical way to do this would be to make the secrets about myself and share them with others. I decided upon setting up a one on one email correspondence with people inviting them to email me (for.net.art@gmail.com) and I would send them my secrets. Instead of posting them directly on the internet, this would create a more personal situation that is reminiscent of traditional mail, while incorporating the digital world.

The Project
        To execute the project I made card inviting people to email me and in return I’d tell them a secret, and distributed them by hand and online through Facebook and Livejournal. Once I received an email from a person, I’d respond with one of five secrets made in Adobe Photoshop, designed to look similar to those found in Post-Secret. In the email I also invited the person to continue the correspondence to receive another secret. Once a person received all five, correspondence with that person would end with a message stating that there were no more secrets at this time.

The Secrets?
        Sorry, I won’t be posting the full-size images of the secrets I sent. Only the people who emailed me during the project will have seen then. Smaller versions can be seen below in the email screen captures.

Some Emails and Images