‘I asked people to give me eight hours of their sleep’: Sophie Calle revisits her artistic experiment

In 1979, French writer, photographer and artist Sophie Calle invited friends and strangers to sleep in her bed, with the intention of photographing them and recording their movements, including their conversations behind closed doors. Twenty-seven people said yes, including a seamstress, a trumpet player, a painter, a baker and a babysitter.

‘I asked people to give me eight hours of their sleep,’ says Calle, speaking before the publication of this record, translated into English for the first time. ‘To come and sleep in my bed. For eight days, my room was to be a completely occupied space. The occupation of the bed began on Sunday 1 April 1979, at 5pm and ended on Monday 9 April at 10am. Sleepers came and went. Some crossed paths. Everyone was offered breakfast, lunch or dinner. Clean bedding was provided. To establish a neutral relationship, I asked a few questions. I took photographs every hour. I watched my guests sleep.’

The new edition of the experience reproduces not only the photographic record of the artistic experiment, but also the narrative which runs alongside it, as Calle quizzes her guests. Is sleeping a pleasure? Do they talk in their sleep? Do they dream? What would they like for breakfast?

The 27 sleepers reward Calle with a raw intimacy. They are captured deep in sleep, feet flung out from under the covers, or caught on waking, startled by her photographs, Calle's voyeurist detective abilities softened by the vulnerability of the sleeping.

The Sleepers by Sophie Calle is published by Siglio, 2024

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