Nicole Wilson
One red blood cell to all of the red blood cells in a human body
This line references the comparative scale of loose change Nicole Wilson sent to the U.S, government as of the 15th year of the National Debt Project, to the current amount of public debt held.
The National Debt Project began on August 31, 2009. With all of the loose change that Wilson would find in her pockets, on the street, tucked away in nooks and crannies, it seemed ridiculous to her that the National Debt would continue to grow while money was floating around seemingly everywhere. In response, she decided to send her change to the United States Department of the Treasury, and copy President Obama on the correspondence. Through Obama's second term in office, Trump's presidency, and Biden's current tenure, Wilson has never stopped sending in her loose change: taped to her letters and sent certified mail via USPS.
Now that the National Debt Project is approaching its 15th anniversary, Wilson's years of daily contributions and letter writing to the federal government have evolved into a multifaceted and multimedia practice, all of which will be presented in the exhibition on view at Praise Shadows.