Shelf Memory #1
Shelf Memory #1
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As some of the books in this photo project are my own, this image is deeply personal. It's a note from "Grandma Conway" AKA my husband's grandmother, recently passed. She wrote this into a Robert Munsch book; a gift to my son, her great-grandson, the first time she met him. Unfortunately, she misspelled his name and I didn't have the heart to correct her. Still, this note in this book is the only handwritten message she leaves my son and we will treasure it far into his adulthood. It is bittersweet to include it in this photo project and adds a personal layer to this collection.
Project Description
“Shelf Memories” is a nostalgic photo series that explores the relationship between giver and recipient through the medium of books given as gifts. In the first pages of a book often nestles a handwritten note from which we catch a brief yet intimate insight into the bond between people. The notes, paired with a cover image of the book, reveal the giver's intentions; from early nursery rhythms and children's Bibles to cookbooks and self-help. The handwriting style and word choice often add to these glimpses of a different life.
No matter how important they were, the books are eventually outgrown and succumb to thrift store and community library shelves where they are found and photographed; the final resting place for many words chosen with care, signed with love, and given in hope. Relationships past and children grown, all that remains is a handwritten note, more often than not from "XOXO Nana & Pops".