Urban centres, parks, fashion clubs, bus stops. Humans are social animals. They meet up anywhere and check each other out continuously. Sometimes, however, these meetings don’t end up the way they were intended and are left incomplete. The street art project "I wish I said hello" started in May 2012 by Lisa Park and Andria Navarro , two New York students, is based on the experiences of people who, for one reason or another, have crossed paths but never kept in touch. Drawing on the Missed Connection section of the Craigslist website, "I wish I said hello" uses an online form to announce the real world posting of stickers (purposefully similar to Google Maps markers). Messages and pictograms are posted on the street in exactly the same place where the "incomplete meeting" happened, giving the subject a second chance at success and battling the complexity and fast pace of daily life. Although the authors have specified that the project is only about provocative street art and not a (re)meeting, it's undeniable that the human component is central to the concept. And who knows where this Manhattan-initiated project might spread?

Benedetta Sabatini