Manzer

'Manzer' is one of three words invented by my collaborator for this project.  It turns out to be a rather rare surname and may originate in a village in Switzerland though the only examples I found now appear to be in North America and Canada. Using family history websites I found and collected a number of names, pictures and comments from surviving family members who may or may not have common ancestors or have any knowledge of each other.  This dossier became a kind of pseudo family archive existing somewhere between reality and artifice. The photographs were 'aged' along with some pages of numbered comments to create an illusion of authenticity and the collection was put together in the traditional shoe box. Viewers were invited to handle and discuss the items and encouraged to speculate on the reality of the piece and its origins.