Sophie Calle: The Address Book

A key and controversial work in French artist Sophie Calle’s oeuvre, ‘The Address Book’ lies at the epicentre of many layers of reality and fiction. After finding a lost address book on the street in Paris, Calle copied its pages before returning it to its owner, a man she had never met. She then embarked on a search to come to know this stranger by contacting individuals in the book, following him through the map of his acquaintances. Upon learning of the work and its serial publication in a newspaper, the man threatened legal action; Calle agreed not to republish it until after his death. This is the first trade publication in English of ‘The Address Book’, which has the physical weight and feel of an actual address book.