Photo by From the Hip Photography

“Small world!” A short but powerful phrase that binds seemingly disparate people who share an unusual and unexpected connection. With extreme limitations currently in place, socializing with new people and having these “small world” moments is less frequent, but thanks to the internet we can still have this experience in the virtual realm. Since the opening of Devon Dikeou’s “Mid-Career Smear” at The Dikeou Collection, people have been sharing their photos of the exhibition online, circulating them far and wide. One such image found its way to a woman named Lizzi in New York City who was amazed to see a vivid element from her childhood past be one of the defining visual features of “Mid-Career Smear.”

Fragment of original wallpaper installed at the home of Lucy Sharp Dikeou

Back track to exactly 2 years ago… to when Devon happened upon scraps of torn up wallpaper mixed in with one of her old drawing portfolios. Finding this immediately transported her to her mother’s home circa 1970, where this wild psychedelic floral wallpaper adorned a petite powder room. It was removed for redecorating, but three pieces were salvaged by Devon who knew they would be useful later. These pieces were enough to create a digital replica of the full pattern, and were handed over to a custom wallpaper company for production. By October 2019 the wallpaper was printed, shipped, and installed at The Dikeou Collection as part of the “Mid-Career Smear” exhibition.

Photo by Cori Anderson

Hung in the same room as Wade Guyton’s “the Room Moved the Way Blocked (Stage 1)” and accented with a grasshopper green ceiling, the wallpaper pattern became a crucial part of the exhibition’s branding and appeared on invitations, brochures, pamphlets, and other signage. Precisely two weeks after the opening, an email popped up from someone named Lizzi who received photos of the wallpaper from a friend and said that she grew up with the exact same design in her family’s New York apartment in the late 1960s. A very unique and surprising “small world” moment!

Photo courtesy of Lizzi Katz

But it didn’t stop there… after a brief exchange of how their mothers’ taste in decorating shaped their aesthetic views, Lizzi shared another photo of a different wallpaper from growing up. Lo and behold, Devon also lived with this very same wallpaper – hung in another powder room at her mother’s house. Granted, wallpaper was popular décor back then, but these patterns are particularly unique, and for two people who have never met and live in different parts of the country have two of the same designs is a pretty significant coincidence. And for the daughters of these two people to connect 5 decades later, in the midst of global isolation, makes the story even more magical. In an email Lizzi expressed that this discovery and exchange “has been some brightness in this crazy overwhelming time.”

Photo courtesy of Lizzi Katz, Jonathan Katz, and Sandor Ellix Katz

All of us at The Dikeou Collection hope you are finding ways to stay connected to those you know, and even those you don’t, during a time where so much is unknown. Use art as the bridge, the conduit, the olive branch or whatever you need it be to connect and ground you in the familiar, and also be the means to discover and explore. Thanks to Lizzi for reaching out to us!