Paul Ramírez Jonas
Artist in the Public Realm









Mi Casa Su Casa, 2005




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    A lecture about space and how we defined it as locked or unlocked. Each talk was followed by an exercise in trust. The images for the lecture created expanded portraits of people from San Diego and Tijuana. They began with a photo of an individual, continued with a photo of their keychain on the palm of their hand, and ended with a photo of each key in the key chain paired with what it unlocked. After each talk the public was invited to exchange keys with the artist and each other. The equipment necessary to duplicate keys was available, along with blank keys engraved with a symbol of trust and generosity. Anyone willing to have one of their keys duped onto these custom keys, received someone else's key in exchange. The lectures took place in schools, corporations, clubs, universities, and a jail.