The Anonymous Heartache Project is an experimental documentary hybrid that explores the varied perceptions of human intimacy through the examination of personal messages that were never meant for public eyes. The Project started with a call for submissions posted on craigslist.org looking for people willing to submit any old/new letters, stories, emails, voicemails or any other medium that contains a message pertaining to some emotionally charged aspect of a personal relationship. In an attempt to deconstruct and universalize the deeply personal content of the messages being examined, the letters were rendered anonymous and then read aloud by random third party readers. The result is a database of material, from unrelated anonymous sources, that addresses the heartache of love lost.

The Anonymous Heartache Project then invited artists and filmmakers to create visual media inspired by the material on our website. We are excited to present the first incarnation of The Anonymous Heartache Project as a collaborative multimedia installation at this year's 2011 Re/Mixed Media Festival!

Artist Bios:
Erin Culton is a Multimedia Artist with a background in Fine Art, Photography and Video Production: (badjuniper.com)
I have always felt compelled to explore the imagery of subjects that make me uncomfortable. When I approach a new concept I start by collecting as much material as possible, taking several photos or hours of video on one subject. I then experiment by taking the same image and putting it through different artistic processes. I am interested in the construction and deconstruction of meaning as the content is translated into different mediums.
The Anonymous Heartache Project is a study on the semantics of intimacy. I wanted to explore the how the meaning of the language used in love/hate letters shifts as its filtered through a readers personal intonations and paired with suggestive imagery.

Anna Barsan is a Visual Artist, Story Teller, Media Maker and Educator: (annabarsan.com)
Operating under the belief that our most compelling stories often occur behind closed doors, whispered on pillows or written in journals, I seek to reuse and re-purpose the moments, words, and ideas that reflect the best of what we have already offered one another, too often passing unnoticed and uncelebrated. I aim to craft projects and stories with hopes that they can be used as tools of reflection