I have a confession to make - I'm not as cool as an east Londoner. My clothes are from charity shops, not vintage markets. I'm not skinny enough to fit in "skinny" jeans. I prefer dank, classic pubs to trendy clubs. I like having regular employment. So hence, I usually stay west of Liverpool street to minimize my obvious un-coolness.
So it took a particularly interesting show to get me to the Whitechapel Gallery for the first time. Sophie Calle, a French photographer, has taken over a big part of this huge gallery for her show - Talking to Strangers.
The first, and better, part of the show greets you on your way into the gallery. Though filled with hipsters, the show itself is brilliant - the artist took the letter her partner used to break up with her and showed it to 107 professional women to get their professional opinion on it. Psychologists, authors, dancers, opera singers, mothers - their opinions are here for you to see or read, and you can easily spend hours going through the single room of the show reading all their responses. Along with their responses there are some fantastic photographs - my favorite made it onto the promotional material, which you can see on the upper right.
Upstairs, Sophie Calle's work continues in another gallery room. This one is less cohesive and covers several projects, but has the same fun themeing of her series. She offers her bed for strangers to sleep in, photographs them and tells there stories. In another series she goes to the South Bronx and asks people to take her to their favorite place in the neighborhood. In New York City, she gets an assignment from an author to play one of his characters, and interacts with the locals from a telephone booth. In another, she finds the address book of a random man and calls up his friends to learn about him. Its a bit contrived, but its also a lot of fun.
The Sophie Calle Exhibit runs until January 3, so get a move on! The gallery is directly above Aldgate East tube stop and is free.
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