Nel Burke

Collaged ID cards created by Nel Burke

Over the course of a year (2018-19) Nel Burke made 201 collaged ‘identity cards’.  They began as jokey things but quickly abandoned their numbers and designations and became almost little stories from the lives of ‘persons unknown’.  Wondering what we might supply, if we fashioned our own identity document.  Would it concern what we identify with, or what once happened to us, or our potential life, our fantasy?  They are credit card sized and completely unique, comprising fragments of things collected over many years.  She is interested in the idea of proof that can’t function as such because it doesn’t have a bar code, hologram or official stamp.  These ID cards are masquerading, dressing up as the real thing.