Love letters. There’s the ones exchanged by writer pair Ingeborg Bachmann and Max Frisch that were recently published, and John Cage and Pauline Schindler’s pining correspondence, sent over a single summer. Then there’s Ralph Wiggum, who sent Lisa Simpson one saying “I choo-choo-choose you”. And lastly there’s Paris-born artist Sophie Calle, who, having not received a card, immediately paid to have one professionally written. If you feel like Calle this winter – or just can’t get enough romantic post – the Love Letters series from the “Department of Love” curatorial collective is highly recommended. The project, whose brief is to “explore love as a mode of resistance, a practice of collaboration and a continuous exercise in empathy” began in 2022. It takes the form of a newsletter where subscribers get a love letter sent to their inbox every month. Written by artists and authors exclusively for the project, the formats are as diverse as the participants themselves. You register for free, and then forget about it. Then suddenly, amongst bills, spam and work messages, a different kind of email pops up: “Days have turned foggier since my last letter, it is as if your absence has wrapped itself around the light” (Fette Sans). In a kitschy, melancholic way, you’re reminded how important, big and beautiful these expressions of love can be.
Text: Hilka Dirks / Photos: Cottonbro & Polina Zimmerman
You can subscribe to the Love Letters newsletter here.
@deptof.love
