Before I Die: A Project By Artist Candy Chang

Artist Candy Chang made a stencil with the words "Before I die I want to ______." and posted it on a wall in New Orleans, LA. This is what happened.

Here's the stencil:

candychang.com

"It was an experiment and I didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was bursting with handwritten responses and it kept growing..." - Candy Chang

And here's the abandoned house after Candy finished the wall.

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She left chalk so that anyone could write on it.

It started out pretty organized.

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And then the words started spilling over.

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And soon every inch of the wall was filled with the words of strangers.

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"...People’s responses made me laugh out loud and they made me tear up. They consoled me during my toughest times. I understood my neighbors in new and enlightening ways, and the wall reminded me that I’m not alone as I try to make sense of my life." -- Candy Chang

They washed the wall and it started to fill up again.

candychang.com

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"...find my purpose!"

"...live."

"...forget racism."

"...do a cartwheel."

"...do it all over."

candychang.com

candychang.com

"...be someone's cavalry."

"...tell my mother I love her."

"...Live in another country"

"...evaporate into the light."

The project had a happy ending; the house was sold and would become a home.

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Candy left one last quote on the wall for the owners.

Interested in doing a project like this yourself? There's kits you can get so you can make your own wall.

candychang.com

Remember, though, that Candy got a permit and made sure the wall was legal.

On the site there are other languages, too, as the project spread globally.