SMART PAWN
FEB. 14 - 19 @ smart pawn shop
Object-based work presented in the group exhibition Smart Pawn, curated by Romain Sarrot and Edouard NG, held from February 14–19, 2023, at the Smart Pawn shop, 2627 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles. The exhibition featured works by Clémentine Bruno, Cécile di Giovanni, Agatha Ingarden, P. Koo Ito, Clynton Lowry, Edouard NG, Hamish Pearch, Romain Sarrot, and Aaron Young.
A vintage BellSouth cordless telephone, almost identical to the one featured in the opening sequence of the first Scream film (Wes craven, 1996), was exhibited by Cécile di Giovanni. The specific model is now nearly impossible to find, except in online fan forums where it is documented, re-enacted, or even re-created from cardboard.
This piece was part of Smart Pawn, a group exhibition held inside an operational pawn shop in Los Angeles. Artworks were shown alongside secondhand goods for sale.
When Di Giovanni learned that the exhibition would take place in a pawn shop, she felt compelled to work around the notion of the prop — the copy of a copy, the simulacrum — which is a recurring concern in her practice. She is interested in the way objects migrate across contexts: from functional tools to symbolic artefacts, and eventually into something almost sacred, because of what they represent and the way they are sought after.
Inspiration
The telephone is a recurring object in the Scream franchises — arguably even one of their main characters. Its shape — its model — evolves alongside the series itself, reflecting technological shifts and changing modes of communication.
However, the BellSouth phone model used by Casey in the opening scene of the very first Scream film is by far the most iconic — likely due to its rarity today and its status as an emblem of a bygone era.
Various posts on Reddit forums from users searching for the BellSouth phone model used in the first Scream film. Also shown: an image of a cardboard replica of the phone available for purchase on Etsy, as well as a 3D-printed version for sale on the Cult 3D website.
A remarkable number of people are now searching for this particular model. Some surviving pieces can be found on forums and film prop memorabilia websites, where they are displayed almost like museum artifacts.
Process
The exhibitied phone was sourced on eBay from a private seller based in Algeria. Its appeal lay as much in its form as in its status: a mass-produced object turned accidental icon and a trace of globalized pop culture circulating across platforms, hands, and narratives. This model is not the exact BellSouth phone that appears in the first two Scream films, but it closely resembles it — enough to create doubt.
A small label with the name “Casey” was then affixed to the telephone.
