BE-LONGING: STORIES OF LONELINESS, 2019

Be-longing: stories of loneliness (2017-2018), 2019, 1120 page book on recycled paper with kettle stitching, handmade box, 205 x 287 x 57 mm, Edition of 5

From 2017-2018, I staged six performative interventions (or ‘situations’ as I call them) in different scenarios – in public space, online, in a gallery and in a studio – where people engaged in dialogues about loneliness. Each iteration was different and brought about its own set of complexities, difficulties and potentials.

This is a book of transcripts of 257 interviews (106 people interviewed in person and 151 online written interviews) collected over the six situations. The book comprises 1120 pages, and so is thick and heavy and hard to manage. The weight of the book suggests the weight of the stories, and the act of navigating this awkwardly large book implicates the viewer in the difficulty of the topic.

This work formed part of my Masters (MAFA Wits) exhibition in April 2019 at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. It is part of the Jack Ginsberg Collection for Book Arts at Wits Art Museum.

You can download the FULL DIGITAL COPY OF THE BOOK HERE