I started collecting found notes after I found an abandoned shopping list on the floor. I wondered whether the shopping list would be missed, or whether the person who dropped it would even realise that it wasn’t on their person anymore. The handwriting and mystery behind the list intrigued me so I kept it. Later that day I found another abandoned note – this time a poem. Both notes said so much about the person who dropped them in so few words. I made the decision to collect these notes for later use.
When I first thought about tuning the notes into a book, I began by assembling scans of the notes in InDesign. Everything immediately become organised and linear. I didn’t feel this did the notes justice, it cut off the interesting edges, the texture and distanced them from their places of origin. I began to look for a way to retain these qualities whilst still keeping them in a presentable state.
I returned to the places I found notes and returned each note. I then took pictures of the notes in their found environments to attempt to reatain the feeling of discovery I experienced when finding them. I found the textures of the ground beneath the notes to add an extra dimension to the photographs.
I began making the photos and scans of the notes into a handmade book; I wanted it to be handmade to reflect the handwritten quality of the notes. I feel I successfully embodied the feeling of the notes in the book.
