||| FROM SANDY STREHLOU for TOWN OF FRIDAY HARBOR |||
On May 2, the Town of Friday Harbor installed a new outdoor public art exhibit in the Sunshine Alley breezeway. There’s a Story Here: Exaggeration Postcards Imagined is the third outdoor exhibit produced by the Town of Friday Harbor in this location since 2018.
Using iconic photographs from local collections, the exhibit takes local history and spins a whopper of a tale describing San Juan Island in the early years. There’s a Story Here combines history, humor, and image manipulation.
In their heyday, exaggeration postcards were an inexpensive genre of collectible souvenirs. Classics like the famous Jackalope, and gigantic fruits and vegetables on rail cars, are familiar images. More tongue in cheek than purposely deceptive, these postcards were popular between the early 1900s and the 1940s. While exaggeration
postcards were produced in Washington state and throughout the nation, none have been found for San Juan County—until now.
The Town thanks Kristine Brown of Printonyx for research and graphic design, the San Juan Historical Society, The Whatcom Museum, Peggy Sue McRae and Jennifer Rigg for photographs, and Alicia and Jeff Carnevali for use of their building as our canvas.
The exhibit is free to the public and will be up in this location until May 2023.
