Not Hansard: the common wealth

The project Not Hansard: the common wealth takes as its starting point the founding of the John Hansard Gallery in 1979, with a gift from the Hansard family, publishers of the daily Parliamentary journal since 1821.

Hansard records everything spoken in parliamentary debates and is available the following day.

Over the preceding nine months before the exhibition opened, we attempted to collect printed material -not commercially available - produced by local and national clubs, societies, hobbyists, collectors, enthusiasts and associations. A sliver of that which is spoken outside of the professionally mediated.

Requests for donations were flyposted, features appeared in local newspapers, adverts in free publications, and spots on local radio and television. Invitations were emailed, posted with on-line newsgroups and spread by word of mouth.

Framed by the turn of the new millennium - the request for contributions specified the first issue of the year 2000 - this collection represents the interests and activities, the hopes and aspirations of a vast and varied society at a moment of reflection. It is a hinge between what has been, and what might yet be for themselves and their society.

The displayed publications open onto a broad field of interests -a space where representatives no longer speak on your behalf, or profit from your passion- but where the quiet curiosities of social life find their own form. It's possible to discern how humble DIY aesthetics slowly dissolve into the more glossy and aspirational, as obscure proclivities fuse with the commercial. The media constantly test the local and mundane for a viable title, seeking the market edge.

The Not Hansard project reflects the rich and sumptuous texture of the 'everyday'. An environment of endless curiosity - enabled by the generously donated publications - emerges; a thin sliver from the avalanche of the possible has been momentarily arranged.

A catalogue is available that records all of the contributors, it's intended as an appendix to any daily Hansard.

visit our friends at The Folk Archive
and at Hansard