Flat Daddy Harper

A cultural intervention and website
http://flatdaddyharper.datafaze.com

Flat Daddies were created to help children retain a memory of their absent parents who are fighting in the war in Iraq. They’re encouraged to kiss and talk to them as a substitute for the real thing. The official Flat Daddy website includes testimonials by parents describing the importance of Flat Daddies in their lives (www.flatdaddies.com).
In this installation, the Flat Daddy concept is applied to our current political situation. Leadership is absent from many areas of Canadian life but I particularly want to draw attention to a failure of vision and imagination where the Arts are concerned.
The original Flat Daddies use a surrogate to provide comfort. I use Flat Daddy Harper to draw attention to the way Canadians feel about the abandonment of the Arts under Harper and to deliver that message with humor.