Shelf Memory #10

 

^ A slide from 'Shelf Memories' upcoming exhibition at the MAC!

While this book or message lines up quite clearly and doesn't stand out in any special way, I wanted to include it in a special memory in this blog because of this mother's love for her daughter. It's impossible to know what the daughter is struggling through but her mother knows that her spirits are low. Whether she came across this book by accident, recommendation, or went looking in her bookstore for something that might help, it is clear why she chose it. "101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit" would surely help her daughter. I like to imagine her combing through shelves of books and gifting it in hopeful anticipation. 

It's been 25 years since the book was given as an encouragement. I hope it helped!

Project Description

"Shelf Memories is a nostalgic photo series that documents the place of books within human relationships. In the first pages of these books lies a handwritten note from which we catch a brief yet intimate insight into the bond between people; the moments shared and milestones celebrated. The notes, paired with a cover image of the book, reveal the giver's intentions; from nursery rhythms and Bibles to poetry and self-help. No matter how meaningful they once 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."