When I was growing up myself and my friends used to play with toy cars in the garden. I imagine many of those toy cars are still there, buried and lost forever. Of all of the toy cars, the ones that represented American cars were the most exciting. It was probably because to us they conjured up images of an exciting illusive country that we could only experience through films and televison.
I still had some of the American toy cars from my childhood and posted them to Lesley Hill in California - In affect posting the pretend American toy cars from my past to the real USA of the present.
Each car was individually packaged in a box that I made from wood found in the garden. The proportions of the box were 16 x 9- the same dimensions as a video image. Lesley filmed each car in the U.S. and posted it back to me. Each box and toy car is fitted into a larger box with a letter box slot cut into it. A mini projector is fitted under the toy car that projects the film, via tiny mirrors, out of the car itself, exactly onto the small box it was posted to America in.
If you come across one of these boxes, and look through the letter box, you will see a film of the toy car in America projecting out of the same toy car.
(See also 'Badgast Residency' where I developed the technic).
I still had some of the American toy cars from my childhood and posted them to Lesley Hill in California - In affect posting the pretend American toy cars from my past to the real USA of the present.
Each car was individually packaged in a box that I made from wood found in the garden. The proportions of the box were 16 x 9- the same dimensions as a video image. Lesley filmed each car in the U.S. and posted it back to me. Each box and toy car is fitted into a larger box with a letter box slot cut into it. A mini projector is fitted under the toy car that projects the film, via tiny mirrors, out of the car itself, exactly onto the small box it was posted to America in.
If you come across one of these boxes, and look through the letter box, you will see a film of the toy car in America projecting out of the same toy car.
(See also 'Badgast Residency' where I developed the technic).
Exciting American car movie imgery. Steve McQueen in 'Bullitt'.
The film 'Vanishing Point' 1971. was a particular favorite of Leslie
Each film starts with a full screen shot of the 16:9 package. When projected onto the box itself it appears to wrapped up again.
Even as an adult I still can't resist picking up lost toy cars I find on a walk. Digging them up in the garden is best though; especilly if they actually belong to your own past. I was trying to tap into this sort of sense of discovery by hiding the films in the woods. (Image:
'yerdigginit metal detecting' channel.)
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The original idea was a gurilla drive in movie but I changed the project and took advantage of Leslie being in another continent after Leslie emigrated back to the U.S.
British toy car manufacturers like 'Matchbox' had a large market for their product in the U.S. up until the late 60's. Consequently many of their models were based on American cars. Quintessentially American in appearance, saying 'Made in England' underneath always looked slightly incongruous.
A selection of my pretend American toy cars.
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