Sophie Calle

Take Care of Yourself

Sophie Calle and her affiliation with love and relationships is a obsession I find endearing, being a romantic a heart I can’t help but be warmed by her exhibition on her break up with a boyfriend which when it was at the Whitechapel gallery I saw many times. When that exhibition was pressed into one room the atmosphere was almost emotional as you see the effect that one woman’s heartache has on 100 other women who show her compassion and support Calle’s cause but empathising with her and expressing how they would feel if they were in her shoes.

Background: Sophie Calle the famous French conceptual artist was dumped by her egotistical boyfriend by email as he goes into depth about how he is anxious and basically trapped by their relationship but hinting at that the break up was her fault as she had rules in place but covers his tracks as he talks frankly about their relationship saying ‘I would have liked things to turned out differently’. He continues to say ‘take care of yourself’ which is harmless from anyone else, tender even, but if you look between then lines it say to me ‘take care of yourself.... as I’m not doing it anymore’. She turned this mishap into a work of art, over two years later, she circulated the letter to 107 women professionals, photographed them reading it and invited them to analyse it, depending on their job.