For many, as the pandemic has continued beyond the initial waves of shock and fear, communication has become more and more difficult; texts have become fewer and slower, video calls have been postponed. Talk Soon (Atelier Editions) arrives as a joyful possibility for renewed connection. It is the playful tearaway postcard book created by Dutch artist, designer and curator Erik Kessels and French artist and collector Thomas Sauvin.
It began as quarantine correspondence, with each sending one another one photograph a day. This is a colourful shout into the void, an eclectic view into two artists’ communication in unprecedented times. Thanks to the tearaway potential of each image, it offers readers (or perhaps more accurately, viewers) the chance to follow in the artists footsteps and send these as their own postcards.
This spiral bound book contains one hundred and twenty colour photos, divided into a top and bottom row and sustainably printed in Italy. The photographs come from the artists’ own archives with Kessels’ contributions filling the top half (Talk) and Sauvin’s filling the bottom half (Soon!). In addition to the images, New Zealand author Kingston Trinder has written his own whimsical phrases on the back of each postcard. Words and photographs combine to inspire further narratives and unique connections to take place. Published by Atelier Éditions, this promises to be a joyous addition to pandemic life. As well as bringing us a sense of hope and optimism for the days we will once again ‘talk soon’.
This spiral bound book contains one hundred and twenty colour photos, divided into a top and bottom row and sustainably printed in Italy. The photographs come from the artists’ own archives with Kessels’ contributions filling the top half (Talk) and Sauvin’s filling the bottom half (Soon!). In addition to the images, New Zealand author Kingston Trinder has written his own whimsical phrases on the back of each postcard. Words and photographs combine to inspire further narratives and unique connections to take place. Published by Atelier Éditions, this promises to be a joyous addition to pandemic life. As well as bringing us a sense of hope and optimism for the days we will once again ‘talk soon’.
Erik Kessels
Thomas Sauvin