Take care of Yourself by Sophie Calle has been described by Louise Neri as ‘a tour de force of feminine responses to a breakup letter that Calle received by e-mail from a man.’ At first, Calle didn’t know how to respond to the letter, but after showing it to friends, the idea for the series developed. Calle asked 107 women to answer professionally, and analyze the breakup letter that she had received from her boyfriend. She didn’t want the women expressing sentiment for her, just an honest interpretation of the letter. The series features a wide range of media including song and dance, scientific analysis, a crossword puzzle, origami, a shooting target, a forensic study and photographs. The title, Take Care of Yourself is taken from the parting words of the letter, and was first presented at the French Pavillion in the 2007 Venice Biennale.
Whether or not the letter is genuine is of little importance. It’s remarkable that such an array of mediums were used to express reaction or response to Calle’s (very personal) letter. She describes how at first she did not know how to respond to the letter, but ultimately and ironically responded very specifically to the parting works ‘Take care of yourself’. Calle feels that the project is her doing just as the parting words state, she is taking care of herself. One contributor wrote a twelve page text, of which Calle selected the following phrase to go on the wall, ‘Cowardice or sublimity?’ For me this positive/negative question sums up the entire project. As out of something negative, came a positive, the project itself.
It is difficult for me to form a proper opinion on Take care of Yourself, as I haven’t seen the instillation as it had been intended. Researching the work, I was heavily reliant on books, critic reviews and interviews with Sophie Calle. That aside, I do find the project intriguing. Although Calle would disagree, I feel she exacted a form of revenge on the letter’s author. For what man would want to be dissected, analysed and attacked by 107 women ? Not I.
Reference
Artsy (2018) Sophie Calle [online], available: https://www.artsy.net/artist/sophie-calle/works?medium=installation&page=1&sort=-partner_updated_at [accessed 12 Jun 2018].
Chrisafis, A. (2007) ‘He loves me not’, The Guardian [online], 16 Jun, available: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/16/artnews.art [acessed 12 Jun 2018].
Neri, L. ‘Sophie Calle’, Interview Magazine [online], 7 Mar, available: http://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/sophie-calle#_ [accessed 12 Jun 2018].
Identity Place Photos 