Sophie Calle on Stalking, Voyeurism and Her Major UK Show

Sophie Calle, described as France's most famous conceptual artist, has built a career on transgressive acts: stalking strangers, posing as a hotel maid to enter guests' rooms, and filming her mother's final breath. A major UK exhibition of her work opens at Turner Contemporary in Margate, prompting a Guardian interview in which she reflects on her career highs and whether she harbours regrets — her answer, in French, is no. Speaking from the Paris apartment where she has lived for almost 50 years, Calle appeared friendly and open, wearing large tinted glasses, before turning evasive roughly ten minutes into the conversation. She told the interviewer she is obsessed with absence, then deflected a follow-up question about why, asking why the interviewer lives in England and why they are wearing that sweater, adding that she is not there to do therapy. The apartment's decor includes a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, pictures and books, and boxes the interviewer imagines hold the innermost thoughts and feelings of her subjects. The interview frames her practice around cruelty and its rewards, as suggested by her remark that she sometimes does cruel things and it is worth it.