(Pic
cou tesy:
Lea d o
Juste )
We
all
have
skeleto s
i
ou
closet.
Most
of
us
do,
if
ot
all.
Pe haps
it’s
a
eg et
you
ca ’t
quite
shake
off,
a
co fessio
that
was
eve
made,
o
a
t uth
that’s
bitte
to
let
go.
The
thi g
is,
sec ets
get
heavy.
They
take
up
space.
A d
they
whispe
at
3
a.m.
whe
you
ca ’t
sleep.
We
keep
them
locked
away.
Most
of
us
take
ou
sec ets
to
the
g ave.
But
what
if
you
could
bu y
you s
lo g
befo e
you
die?If
you
head
to
G ee -Wood
Cemete y
i
B ookly ,
you
will
fi d
a
ma ble
obelisk
that
will
keep
you
sec et.
It
wo ’t
judge.
It
wo ’t
tell.
It
will
just
keep
it,
hold
it,
a d
let
it
sit
i
the
da k
whe e
it
eally
belo gs!
You
sec ets
a e
safe
he e
You
sec ets
a e
safe
he e
(Pic
cou tesy:
Lea d o
Juste )
I
2017,
F e ch
co ceptual
a tist
Sophie
Calle
i stalled
a
white
ma ble
obelisk
i
B ookly ’s
G ee -Wood
Cemete y.
The e
is
o
body
bu ied
u de eath.
F om
a
dista ce,
it
looks
like
a
tombsto e,
but
whe
you
step
close ,
you
will
see
thoughtful
wo ds
e g aved
i to
the
obelisk’s
pale
ma ble:
“He e
lie
the
sec ets
of
the
visito s
of
G ee -Wood
Cemete y.”I
the
base
of
the
tomb,
you
will
fi d
a
slot.
People
w ite
dow
thei
deepest,
da kest
sec ets,
the
o es
they’d
eve
say
out
loud,
the
o es
they’ve
bee
ca yi g
alo e.
They
fold
them
up
a d
slide
them
th ough
the
slit.
The
i stallatio ,
commissio ed
by
C eative
Time
a d
co-p ese ted
with
the
cemete y,
is
a
25-yea
p oject.
Fo
Calle,
this
is
pu ely
a
a t
i stallatio .
“My
pu pose
is
the
poet y,
the
wo k
of
a t,
but
ot
the
the apy.
The e
may
be
a
the apeutic
effect,
but
that
is
ot
my
i te t.
My
i te t
is
a t,”
Calle
told
The
New
Yo k
Times
afte
the
obelisk
was
e ected.
(Pic
cou tesy:
Lea d o
Juste )
The
g ave
of
sec ets
will
stay
u til
2042,
a d
ove
that
pe iod,
Calle
will
etu
pe iodically
whe eve
the
g ave
fills
up,
exhume
the
sec ets
a d
c emate
them
i
a
ce emo ial
se vice.“We
like
this
ki d
of
u bu de i g
a d
this
oppo tu ity
to
be
mo e
eflective,”
Katie
Holla de ,
the
executive
di ecto
of
C eative
Time,
told
the
publicatio .
The
p oject
offe s
“a
mome t
of
catha sis,
getti g
thi gs
that
we’ e
holdi g
o to
a d
eleasi g
them
i
ew
ways,”
Holla de
added.
The
t ue
sto y
behi d
the
i stallatio
The
t ue
sto y
behi d
the
i stallatio
(Pic
cou tesy:
Lea d o
Juste )
Eve yo e
has
sec ets.
Sophie
Calle
also
had
o e.
He
ex-love
left
he
with
a
te ible
sec et
afte
b eaki g
up
with
he .
She
was
left
with
somethi g
she
k ew
she’d
ca y
fo eve .
She
wa ted
a
place
fo
it
to
go.
A
place
whe e
she
could
u bu de
he self
without
a y
co seque ce.“I
was
i
love
with
him,
but
he
had
decided
to
leave
me.
To
softe
the
b eak-up,
he
suggested
a
fa ewell
t ip
of
o e
week
i
Seville.
I
liked
the
idea,
though
it
seemed
pai ful.
So
I
accepted
a d
we
we t.
O
the
last
day,
seei g
my
tea s,
H.
told
me
a
sec et.
It
was
a
te ible
sec et,
which
had
poiso ed
his
life.
A d
he
was
co fidi g
it
to
me.
O ly
to
me.
At
the
ve y
mome t
he
was
dep ivi g
me
of
his
love,
this
ma
offe ed
me,
th ough
his
co fessio ,
the
ultimate
p oof
of
ou
i timacy,”
Calle
said
i
a
stateme t.She
k ew
how
heavy
a
sec et
ca
be.
So,
just
like
he s,
you
ca
bu y
you s.
You
ca
w ite
dow
you
deepest,
da kest
sec ets
without
a
ame
a d
bu y
them
i
the
g ave.Calle
also
has
a
simple
equest
to
keep
the
expe ie ce
pleasa t
a d
poetic.
“I
would
be
g ateful
if
we
could
fo go
selfies,
autog aphs
o
a y
othe
equests
ot
st ictly
co ce i g
you
sec et.”
How
to
get
the e?
How
to
get
the e?
(Pic
cou tesy:
Lea d o
Juste )
This
g ave
of
sec ets
is
located
i
G ee -Wood
Cemete y,
a
478-ac e
cemete y
i
Su set
Pa k,
B ookly .
The
i stallatio
is
located
ea
the
cemete y’s
Mai
E t a ce.
F om
the e,
walk
towa ds
Bay
G ove
Hill,
o e
of
B ookly ’s
highest
atu al
poi ts.
The
view
ope s
up
to
the
wate ,
a d
you
will
spot
the
ma ble
obelisk.
Look
fo
the
wo ds
e g aved
o
it:
“He e
Lie
the
Sec ets
of
the
Visito s
of
G ee -Wood
Cemete y.”
The
slide
you
deepest
sec ets
be eath
it
a d
u bu de
you self.
(Pic
cou tesy:
Lea d o
Juste )
W iti g
fo ces
p ecisio .
You
have
to
ame
it,
ot
just
feel
it.
Maybe
that’s
all
we
eed
sometimes:
the
cha ce
to
ame
the
thi g
we
ca ’t
say,
place
it
somewhe e
it
belo gs,
a d
k ow
it
wo ’t
follow
us
home.
St a ge s
keep
showi g
up
to
bu y
the
thi gs
they
ca ’t
tell
a yo e
else.
Maybe
you
ca
too!