If ever there was a testament to the combination of poetry, photography, and the emotional resonance of a handwritten message, this book would be a strong (if not definitive) contender. Essentially one long visual poem, handwritten passages on various objects: walls, bedsheets, pillows, fences, sidewalks, chalkboards, paper (you get the idea) set the stage, but what really ups the ante here is the use of photography to balance out the emotions.
Wide overview shots give us the overall message but different views/angles offer different perspectives; sometimes wordplay renders different contexts within closeup shots, passages that are written over in paint or another form of ink, and lines that blend together give rise to new patterns in a passage’s form and structure (is there a proper way to read?). The reader becomes a victim of the frame, a silent witness to the rollercoaster of emotions that unfold in different readings, in different compositions.
The other aspect is the whole still life setup. Sometimes these passages are supplemented with still life objects: skulls, dolls, animals, and self-portraits, the added dimension of vanitas, reflecting a certain transience and fragility of life; grains of emotion that add that extra bit of emotional depth.
And the handwriting itself, perhaps most noticeable in the extreme closeups, the one or two word phrases that reveal the intensity of the written word. Handwriting can hold a lot of emotion, the intensity of the lines, the direction and angle of the lettering, the structure (curvature of the cursive) of the letter against the object can say a lot about one’s emotional intent in writing; and that, I think, holds the value. The examination in not just in what is being said, but how the words are being conveyed and presented to reflect a state of mind.
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