Où suis-je

Anne-Lise Coste’s fourth artist’s book, Où suis-je, is a collection of penetrating glimpses into the architectural landscapes of her childhood as they have morphed and reassembled in her mind over time. However filtered and abstracted by memory, these drawings revisit the actual hospitals and infirmaries in which Coste resided as a child during in-patient treatment for an asthmatic condition. They reflect the paradoxically exact and yet imprecise way in which memory replicates details, and the persistence of certain images that remain engraved in our minds. Où suis-je is a key to comprehending Coste’s work, not only for its autobiographical insights, but also for its demonstration of the expansive way in which Coste uses line and text to meditate on loss, longing, and location.