This Store Too, 2004-2007

“This Store Too" is a conceptual sculpture project using a pushcart, reminiscent of those used in the Lower East Side during the 19th century, to share and sell items I have created with homeless men who are served by the Bowery Mission. The small sculptures were a way to share the stories of the men, stories that go against many commonly held ideas about the homeless. The objects offer touchstones for their histories and recent experiences, the social status of homeless persons and the struggle to gain an economic foothold. Each sculpture begins with a material offering from a homeless person that they select to sell me, and I purchase as a remnant of them. I spent the spring and summer of 2004 on the Bowery going to the Bowery Mission and participating in the services as others use their services—going to a church service and then to lunch. Through this I have been able to develop relations with the men and we work together on creating art and making financial exchanges. The summer was spent on the streets running the pushcart as a business—employing several homeless men as business collaborators. All decisions for marketing and sales are made in conjunction with Wilson’s collaborators and a percentage of the profits are donated back to the homeless men.

This Store Too was commissioned by New Museum of Contemporary Art for the exhibition, Counter Culture, curated by Melanie Cohn as the New Museum was preparing to break ground on the new site in the Bowery.