In 1970, General Idea launched a project titled "Manipulating the Self," inviting individuals to submit photos of themselves with their arm wrapped around their head. A year later, these photos were compiled into a small book. On the opening page, General Idea stated, “The head is separate; the hand is separate. Body and mind are separate. The hand is a mirror of the mind... Held, you are holding. You are both object and subject, viewed and voyeur.” Contributors to the project included notable figures such as Ray Johnson, suggesting his influence on the project, as well as May Wilson and “Jhon” Lennon, alongside various other known and unknown individuals.

General Idea was a collective of three Canadian artists, Felix Partz (1945-1994), Jorge Zontal (1944-1994) and AA Bronson. Active from 1967 to 1994, General Idea were pioneers in early conceptual and media-based art. Operating outside traditional art venues, and working on continuous strategies of self-mythology, the artists inhabited and subverted forms of popular and media culture like boutiques, television talk shows, trade fair pavilions, and beauty pageants often incorporating unconventional media forms like postcards, prints, posters, wallpaper, balloons, crests, pins, and shopping bags into their work.