The blank sign project was a I work I performed and played around with, off and on, between 2003 and 2004.
The basic premise was straightforward. I made a large blank placard, and would stand in a public place holding this placard from 10am to 6pm for five days. When members of the public approached to ask what I was doing, or what the sign represented, my reply was that I was working and I hadn't been told what the sign was for. This reply in most cases lead to a conversation with the person, about work or about what the sign could be for.
My first performance of this was on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, a primary shopping and drinking street. It was an extremely interesting and enjoyable experience on the whole, barring a couple of semi-violent incidents, so I decided to repeat it. The second time I chose a smaller main street in the north of Glasgow, Possilpark.
When I was on an academic exchange to Chicago in 2004 I saw the opportunity to try the piece in a markedly different social setting, and I performed the piece twice there. A day from one of these performances was documented by video from a nearby building, and a hidden microphone.