Stories are all around us, everywhere we go, everything we experience, everything we do.
Accidents, incidents, conversations and chance encounters. All create a tale, whether it is an epic journey or a fleeting moment in time. Nevetheless, they make up the fabric of our lives and shape our world.
41 Places is a fascinating collection of stories displayed as unique artworks around Brighton and Hove. A street corner, a town hall and a policeman's personal epiphany are just a few of the elements gathered together by writer, journalist and former Observer columnist William Shaw and shaped into compelling short tales.
William says: "I have always been fascinated with the idea that stories are everywhere, just lurking unseen and I began to wonder what it would be like if you put the stories in the places they actually happened.
"It seems like such an obvious idea yet technically it has been difficult in the past.
But now it is possible to print on most surfaces you can do it anywhere."
The installations have been designed by typographer Richard Wolfstrome, who has worked on projects for organisations ranging from Deloitte and Touche to London Fire Brigade and Brighton-based Karis Developments.
Presented by cutting-edge 3D company Standard 8, who have worked for Reuters and Oxfam among others, these 41 stories appear across the city in different locations as insightful and thought-provoking works of modern art.
William says: "I have a great one in West Street involving a police officer who recently moved to Brighton but had been in a tough area of policing before.
"He was covering Pride for the first time and he realised just because everything looked like an anomaly didn't mean it was bad. It was a wonderful, liberating moment."
One story in Pavilion Gardens is based on the thoughts running through a busker's head as he takes a toilet break, while another describes a woman having her hair cut.
Other narratives come from time spent shadowing St John Ambulance crews and from The Argus archives.
William adds: "Some stories are heartbreaking, some are life-affirming and others are just little moments in time."
To join this visual and literary treat for the senses and seek out all 41 places, pick up the official map from shops, cafes and the festival ticket office or simply stroll around the city and see what you come across.
- Free, visit www.41places.orgfor full details
- Sponsored by EDF Energy
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