Never before in human history have people written so much, so frantically: texting, tweeting, thumb-typing on public transport, updating statuses during work breaks, scrolling and clicking in front of glowing screens at 3 a.m. If we are all going to be writers, it is a story that asks the minimal utopian question: what else could we be doing with writing, if not this?
– Richard Seymour, The Twittering Machine
To Huntly, With Love is an invitation to slow down communication and celebrate the ancient practice of letter writing. In the summer of 2021, as the country gradually emerged from the pandemic, it became apparent how much of our day-to-day communication has moved online: to social media, emails, Whatsapp, Facetime and Zoom. To Huntly, With Love is designed to help inspire a transition away from the digital realm to more personal, private and heartfelt ways of connecting. The project is interested in whether slowing down the process of communication changes what we say and how we say it.
Through public interventions, events and local partnerships, the project invited the people in Huntly to put pen to paper and share their appreciation, hope, concerns and considerations for the people and places that matter most to them. In contrast to the fast and often callous ways people communicate on social media, the project asked us to make room for deliberate and genuine expression that requires time and care. Using love letters as a medium, To Huntly, With Love, aimed to open up a space for a new way of communication and reminds us of the sensual joy of sending and receiving messages that are more than just bits and bytes.
Throughout August and September 2021, letters appeared in the streets of Huntly, inviting residents and visitors to stop and read, share and reply. They were placed on benches and windowsills, on garden walls and electricity boxes. They appeared in green spaces and on the sheltered entrance steps of empty shops. Each letter was addressed to Huntly and everyone in the town. Some were written by Annie Runkel, others by members of the Huntly Writers Group and fellow residents. The letters were written by hand or typed on an old-fashioned typewriter which was available for common use at a designated writing desk in Square Deal. Special semi-translucent envelopes marked each letter as belonging to the project. The envelopes could be picked up for free at different locations throughout the town.
The project was deliberately designed to offer different levels of engagement which left it open for the people of Huntly if, how and when to engage with the project. Through the decentralised distribution of the letters and envelopes, the project left room for the idea to grow and develop independent of the involvement of Deveron Projects employees.
The project was supported by two workshops about letter writing. The first workshop was offered as part of the Deveron Projects Friday Lunch event. The second was arranged for the residents of Balhousie Care Home in Huntly.
To Huntly, With Love was created as part of a three-month SGSAH artist residency by the artist and poet Annie Runkel who is currently working towards her PhD at DJCAD in Dundee.
