"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 one hundred and seven women, including two made of wood and one with feathers, chosen for their professions 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."
In this book, there is a brief explanation of the scenario, a copy of the email itself, and then 107 pictures of women reading the letter accompanied by their remediation of it. These interpretations or responses vary wildly in format, from a lawyer's potential case notes to a fairytale retelling to a libretto to a screenplay to a DVD of a mediation session and just about everything in between.
What I find most interesting about this piece is the tension between book and performance it articulates - Calle's project would have been meaningful without her making a book of it, which begs the question of why she did. She also makes some interesting media and binding choices, such as the smaller booklets bound within the pages of the large book and the CDs and DVDs which are included.
