Sophie Calle's critically acclaimed exhibition, 'Prenez soin de vous (Take care of yourself)', first show at the Venice Biennale in 2007, will be on view at the DHC/ART Foundation this July. At the heart of the exhibition is a break-up e-mail that the artist received from a lover, which ends with the line "Take Care of Yourself". Sophie Calle decided to do just that:
"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."
'Prenez soin de vous' consists of texts, photos, films and voices of 107 women of all ages who interpret the break-up letter through their various professions. This poetic and often touching project speaks to us all about our relation to the loved one.
One of France's pre-eminent artists, Calle mixes photography, text, performance and video in conceptually-inflected narratives of desire, loss and abandonment. Through humour, pathos, fetishism and voyeurism the artist tests and ultimately redraws the boundaries of private and public life.
Sophie Calle
11 July - 19 October
DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art
451 and 468 St-Jean
Montreal
Quebec H2Y 2R5
Canada
www.dhc-art.org
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