Sophie Calle: Neither Give Nor Throw Away

Flecked with simulated water and mold stains, Calle’s newest artist’s book resurrects her storm-damaged artworks that hover between preservation and decay

While Sophie Calle (born 1953) was preparing for her exhibition at the Musée Picasso in Paris, a storm hit her home and caused severe mold and water damage to many artworks, including photographs from her series Les Aveugles (The Blind). Calle was inspired by an idea by artist Roland Topor, in which he buried an old sweater that he could neither give away nor throw away. Thus, her subsequent exhibition and its corresponding artist’s book contend with art that fades with the passage of time.
To accompany the damaged images from Les Aveugles, reproduced alongside spatters of rot and stain, Calle chose to feature other rain-damaged artworks that, curiously, all spoke of death or loss: bouquets of dried flowers; photographs of graves; paintings of her mother’s last word. Atop this moribund arrangement she adds things from her life, such as articles of clothing, that she cannot bring herself to part with. Inserted within the pages are 15 color images of the exhibition display, which the reader can add to any page of the book, whether indicated by the picture-frame-printed corners or otherwise.