Sophie Calle at Tallinn Art Hall

Sophie Calle (1953) is definitely one of the most famous French artists today. Her exhibition “Take care of yourself” was opened today at the Tallinn Art Hall. The same project was presented at the 2007 Venice Biennale in French Pavilion.

The idea of the exhibition-installation is based on a letter which was sent to the artist by her ex-lover – a dumping letter. This happened a few years ago by e-mail.

Sophie Calle turned this into art. She asked women of different professions to read the letter and interpret it according to their speciality, which finally became the outcome of the show. Athlete, criminalist, judge, editor, singer, comedian, etc.

The result is a conceptually beautiful piece. Probably one that many women can relate to. I don’t (want to) which is why I’m not able to see the work from its built-in perspective and I will therefore be offering a bit different critique to the work.

Sophie Calle is well-known for her private boundaries-breaking works. She once interviewed everyone from a found address book about the owner and published the result in a newspaper. In Venice, she got a job as a chambermaid and went through people’s private things and made images of the mess people left behind.

Calle turns personal pain into art. Nothing new here. It seems to be a therapy for her. It’s not juvenile, but there is something bothering me about this certain exhibition at the Tallinn Art Hall. I think this project would have been more interesting if it included the say from the other party, i.e. the ex-lover. I would have liked to hear his position next to his dumping-letter that is presented at the exhibition. There are always two people, two sides in a relationship, but this exhibition out rules the possibility of the ex having a say about the situation. But as usual, there is no chance for a second opinion in case of a feminist project.

Inevitably this also causes to question about her personal life. It seems that she has had no luck finding a life partner, even at 58. I’m cruel, I know. Sophie Calle does not have to care about the feelings of her ex, especially when she stresses that the project is about the text and not about the person. However, she cannot really avoid it because the text she is using is very personal to herself. The text would have a different effect if she had used a found dumping-letter like she did with the address book.

I would suggest to check out Sophie Calle’s other projects which are much more demanding and curious – “Take care of yourself” seems to be a cooling down of “female force of nature.”