On February 27, 2023, La Poste (the Post Office) issues a stamp in the artistic series illustrated by a photo of Dominique Issermann representing the hand of Laetitia Casta.
“Like a small window that opens in the front of the envelope – always the 1st floor window on the right – onto a face, a landscape, a travel souvenir, a cathedral, the Taj Mahal… the stamp is placed, sticks inexorably before the mail leaves.
I have always liked to hear the sound of the rubber stamp which, like the three strokes in the theatre, gives the signal of departure, prints the date and the country of origin, authorizes the journey of the letter, the card, the parcel, which undertake the journey by passing from hand to hand to their recipients.
The envelope that we lick indifferently for the friend or the inspector, seals the secrecy of the couriers. The firmly glued stamp gives us clues about the feelings of the sender, irresistible cat, fiery horse, medal profile, beating heart… The time of departure has arrived, my stamp can go around the world, for a modest sum.
The tithe is paid. Planes, boats, cars, bicycles take turns and the hand is about to ring, to open the door. The postman’s hand puts an end to the stamp’s journey, mission accomplished.
Laetitia Casta’s hand brushes the stone, looks for a crack in the wall, as if to send a message, to ask questions, to wait for answers, to confide secrets wrapped in a bit of paper stamped with an image, at the top on the right, at the window.
This is the first page of the book that I produced with Laetitia Casta in the Thermes de Vals built in Switzerland by Peter Zumthor”.
Dominique Isserman
