In December 2016, photographer Carlotta Guerra and poet Elsbeth Pancrazi started a project together. Without having met (besides digitally, through a collaboration for the Los Angeles online magazine 7x7.la) they decided to open themselves up to a special correspondence—regularly exchanging poems and photographs to share a year in their lives.
Who makes a year-long commitment to a stranger? And what does it mean to hold up the bargain and create something together? When the twelve months had finished, the two artists found themselves seeking the answers to these questions in their work.
At a time when conversation across continents feels more precious than ever, Pancrazi and Guerra’s weaving of words and images conjures a moment of hope. In book form, it functions as a magical self help book. Seasonal change, small moments of observation, and natural wonders emerge as a joint language that abounds with echoes and bypasses casual conversation to achieve a deep intimacy. In March 2019, Guerra and Pancrazi met in Seaview, WA, and crafted their correspondence into Take What You Need.
Mysterious and intimate, Take What You Need documents a year in sustained feeling.