Love Letters was a project in which I created dialogue between people through the writing of letters. I created a “love letter booth,” (a closable decorated tent) and positioned it in a common area on the UBCO campus, welcoming any willing passer-by to participate.
Love Letter participants were invited to take a love letter from the mail box situated outside of a “love letter booth.” The participant would then enter the booth and I would seal them inside. Inside they were instructed to read the letter, which was left by the previous letter writer participant, and then to reply to it. The reply would then be placed in the mailbox for the next person who happened along, ultimately creating a conversation chain.
The space itself became an intimate adventure, which was largely due to the tent that held the experience. The tent was approximately 4-by-8 with an opening at the long end which participants would be escorted into. Participants were able to hide away for an undetermined amount of time within the tent, which was set up with an antique farmer’s desk, a desk lamp supported by various twinkle lights, a comfortable chair, cozy blanket, baskets that carried pillows for holding various stationary and pens.
Interwoven in the experience were elements of giving and receiving, and the container functioned so that participants were able to be fully immersed in the action of both. Outside of the tent lived a mailbox, where each person would receive the letter and then mail the responding letter.
Inside the tent there was the opportunity to choose a chocolate and leave it on a plate with a tiny note reading ‘a sweet for my sweet’ for the person who arrived next.