We are interested in play, so we asked contributors to participate in a drawing game. We chose images, simplified them into graphic icons, and derived instructions for drawing them. The nature of the image was not meant to be discernable from a reading of the instructions alone; the steps needed to be followed for the image to be revealed. In this way, the final product became the result of a dialogue between us and contributor—a reflection of how well we made our instructions, and how closely participants were able to follow them.
The images we gave to render are images that we viewed as reflective in some way of our lives, which take place largely in the context of U.S. American culture. Some of them could act as points of contrast with the lives that emerge in other cultures and countries—Iran being the relevant locale in this case—and some could act as points of continuity. We hoped with “Ours” to engage people in making. If the images didn’t end up looking like what we, the originating artists, intended, it was the nature of the game that contributing artists had the freedom to commandeer the drawings for their own purposes. Between the originators and the contributors, what has emerged is not the sole property of one or the other; it’s ours.
Secret Language: Both sides of the people who are engaged in dialogue have an effect on its result. Therefore, we have chosen both sides of this game to be movable. The person who writes the guidelines of the game also changes frequently.