You never know what’s going to happen when you start to play. What version of yourself will show up. What will slip out when the standard rules of behavior fall away. Play shows us who we are, whether we want to know or not. It reveals what’s tucked beneath the contained version of ourselves, the parts we manage, edit, and disguise. Sometimes what emerges is surprising. Sometimes it feels impossible to control. Play is the process of getting to know yourself within a safe container.

Frankie by Sophie Hirsch traces play from concept to lived experience, revealing its capacity to expose, disrupt, and release. Frankie is an artist’s book that approaches text and image in a highly distinctive way. It is a sensual and visual experience—an object that itself becomes a work of art.