Turning pain into art

He loves me not

Sophie Calle (b. 1953) represents France at the 52nd Venice Biennale, which opened last weekend. Her exhibition consists of the responses of 107 women to a private email Calle had received from a lover, telling her that their affair was over. The email ended with the phrase that provides the title of the show, Take Care of Yourself.

The women read the email, analysed it, danced and sang it, cried over it, and treated it as evidence, material for a skit, a film, a crossword, a report. The group included female judges, moral philosophers, clairvoyants, comedians, detectives, diplomats, pop singers, actors, opera divas and even a parrot. Calle's exhibition, curated by French artist Daniel Buren, is the result.