‘Suite Vénitienne’ (1980) by Sophie Calle

‘For months I followed strangers in the street. For the pleasure of following them, not because they particularly interested me. I photographed them without their knowledge, took note of their movements, then finally lost sight of them and forgot them.

At the end of January 1980, on the streets of Paris, I followed a man whom I lost sight of a few minutes later in the crowd. That very evening, by chance, he was introduced to me at an opening. During the course of our conversation, he told me he was planning an imminent trip to Venice.’

Suddenly, the narrator decided to join him. The next morning, armed with a camera and a blonde wig, she took the train to Venice, where she discovered where he was staying, then shadowed him, taking photographs where she could.