Down the Urban Rabbit Hole

To the right, you’re looking at a t-shirt that maps the wearer’s defining lifetime experiences, like a very analog version of geotagging. This is “My Urban Rabbit Hole,” a project by youth culture journalist and urban anthropologist Samina Virani. Participants receive a t-shirt pre-silk screened with a map of an urban local (currently just lower Manhattan, with plans to add other cities in the near future). Individuals then choose five points on the map that represent locations where they’ve had a seminal moment, and affix a permanent red paint stamp and a wax seal finish.

So how does one become a participant? The process, as explained by the organization, is quite the rabbit hole in itself:

A series of mysterious hoops, clues and trap doors constitute the journey that lead to specific, invitation only, limited capacity events where each t-shirt is customized by its owner….The events, an integral part of the process – specifically encapsulate the energy of the project, providing a platform for creating community, encouraging storytelling, and demonstrating the power of the immediate experience through an on-the-spot participatory creative process.

To sign up for consideration for the project, go to www.404251N.com, enter the password newyorkoct#11 (expires in about a week), and complete the short application form. If what you write is enchanting enough, you’ll receive an email with further instructions. Mysterious!