Echoes of Home

It is a hot summer day in August. Standing in a sea of tall, swaying grasses, I pause to listen to the birds and crickets - they seem almost surprised to see me in this forgotten landscape.

There is not much else going on. Fields of golden wheat and green pastures stretch as far as the eye can see. The dirt road that brought me here lies empty. I follow it with my eyes to the horizon - a straight line that fades into a tiny dot in the distance.

I turn away from the road towards the house in front of me. An old wooden farmhouse, its paint chipped and sun-bleached from years of standing against the harsh weather on the Great Plains.

Years, if not decades, have gone by since someone had put on a new coat of paint on that house, cleaned its windows, and cut the grass I am standing in.

I refocus on the camera in my hand. As I search for a good composition, I notice the door of the house is standing open ever so slightly.

I slowly approach, listening for any sounds that might come from inside. It is not the first abandoned house I visit. I know that wild animals sometimes make these places their homes. But, so it seems, not this one. I gently push the door open and step inside.

As I walk from room to room, looking at the things left behind, I wonder who might have lived here. Some of the rooms are stripped bare. Others still hold chairs, curtains, old pairs of shoes, a calendar turned to a forgotten month.

Each room carries a trace. Not loud, not obvious. Just an echo.

I began photographing rural, abandoned farmhouses in 2011, and over the years it’s grown into a large body of work. At one point, I imagined turning it into a large-format coffee table book, but for various reasons, that never happened.

Instead, I picked out selected photographs and turned them into smaller projects: some I turned into mixed-media collages, and last year I self-published the zine a humble life. And although I love how it turned out, lately I have been a bit sad that I didn‘t print it myself.

That is when I decided that the next smaller project I would make from this body of work would be handmade from start to finish.

After making the booklet looking in, looking out, and the Leporello Postcards from the Woods, I promised myself that the next zine or book would be a simpler one. One that is less time-consuming, less complicated, and doesn’t need too many steps to be created.

I broke that promise almost immediately when I decided to make that book in the shape of a house. That was the one detail I stubbornly insisted on.

I imagined each page holding a photo of a room’s wall, and a smaller image showing a detail of a room: a kitchen sink, a drawer, a chair in a corner. Each page should represent a room, and as you flip the pages, it would be as if you go from room to room and look at what remains.

The process took longer than I expected. I spare you all the details and obstacles I had to overcome. In the end, it was just as complicated and time-consuming as the others. There were moments I nearly abandoned the idea, but I didn’t. I kept on going.

And I’m glad I did.

I love how it turned out. It may not be polished or perfect like a professionally produced book, but I knew that from the beginning. And I continue learning how to embrace imperfection.

If you’ve read this far, thank you!

Here is a little video of my latest booklet for you:

The handmade Leporello is 18 pages long, approx 15x15cm, printed on both sides on matte photomatte (210gsm). It features smaller, tipped-in photographs and comes in a small box for safekeeping.

I will be offering ten of these handmade books. The price for a Leporello is 40€ (plus 8€ international shipping - free shipping in Germany).

One of my readers kindly suggested offering a pre-release as a perk for paid subscribers. Since they don’t receive anything extra (besides my weekly newsletter), I think this is a wonderful idea.

Here’s how it works: If you’re interested in one of these handmade Leporellos, please send me a message. For the first 48 hours¹, my paid subscribers will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase a copy. After that time, I will go through the messages on a first-come, first-served basis and notify everyone who reached out to me. You will then receive a link to purchase your Leporello.

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That’s all from me this week.

Thank you so much for being here and for taking the time to read this week’s newsletter. It means a lot to me!

Feel free to leave a comment – I always love to hear your thoughts.

X,

Susanne

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1. After this newsletter is sent out.