Ellie Brown

Right now you're working on this bag project. What's that about? It's about private possessions in one's handbag versus public persona. And it's about what people are willing to part with in their bags, and what they're materially attached to. Are you trying to get people to purge? Not necessarily. They can give us nothing--I have a collaborator in Los Angeles, when I say, 'us.' Her name is Camille Conan--One person gave us a tiny safety pin, and that was that. Some people will give us three pounds of stuff from their bags, like they feel this obligation to give and give. We'll tell them they don't have to. So you have a sociological interest in this interaction? Yes. It's anthropological. It's sociological. It's all sorts of things. What are you finding? What are you learning by doing this? Categorically, I can't say yet. I've done fifty people so far. I would actually like someone who does statistics to go through everything and see how many people have iPods in their bags, for instance, how many people have uniball pens... There are common things through out socioeconomic spectrums that everybody has, and then some things that vary greatly. You're starting to notice these trends. Yes. Why take something away? Why not give something to them? I have nothing to give them. But the point is, they don't have to give me anything. They can say, 'No, I don't want to part with anything in my bag.'