Lost & Found, IN LOVE FROM

Lost Found presents the extraordinary edition ‘IN LOVE FROM’. 21 authors respond to old photographs with contemporary love letters. The book object is a captivating fusion of photography and literary creation that brings together the past, present and future. The publication also offers a glimpse into the future, as the unique love letters include a letter written by an AI (GPT-4). This combination of human creativity and modern technology raises questions and opens up new perspectives on the role of artificial intelligence in the art of writing. ‘IN LOVE FROM’ invites readers to explore the powerful connection between photography and the written word and to reflect on the complexity of human relationships and emotions. The authors give the photographs a voice and lend them a new meaning.

Awarded by Stiftung Buchkunst 2024 as one of the 25 most beautiful German books.Statement of the jury:

“Not everything that turns pages is a book. Right? A small black slipcase holds a stack of folded papers. There are just under two dozen A4 sheets of paper, folded crosswise, like love letters used to be written. A book cover, here in the form of a banderole, protects them from slipping out.
A thoroughly romantic concept reanimates old photographs that have lain dormant anonymously at flea markets. Authors were invited to revive an atrophied cultural technique – the writing of love letters. They immerse their imagination in a given photo and let themselves be inspired. People are attached to things, but conversely, memories are attached to every artifact – especially photographs. The memories may be orphaned, but the photos are kissed awake. Each new letter in unpretentious typewriter handwriting has the picture loosely inserted. In this way, the two find each other as fresh image-text pairs.
The letters lie on top of each other as eight-sided folded sheets. It almost looks like a book block. There is no conventional stapling in the bundle, as the letters would otherwise remain sealed. And finally, the combination of slipcase and sleeve takes on the function of holding it together. A book after all.”