A friend shared a blog post about Sophie Calle’s Take Care Of Yourself work with me in the early days of working on Mend, and it’s something I’ve thought about often because it was so powerful. When Sophie received a breakup letter from her boyfriend, she turned to 107 women to interpret the meaning of the letter and organized all of their responses into an installation at the Venice Biennale in 2007.
Her own words:
I received an email telling me it was over.
I didn’t know how to respond.
It was almost as if it hadn’t been meant for me.
It ended with the words, “Take care of yourself.”
And so I did.
I asked 107 women (including two made from wood and one with feathers),
chosen for their profession or skills, to interpret this letter.
To analyze it, comment on it, dance it, sing it.
Dissect it. Exhaust it. Understand it for me.
Answer for me.
It was a way of taking the time to break up.
A way of taking care of myself.
I invite you to read the write up on the installation.
