How artist Sarah Boris turned a easy electronic mail right into a e book of collective intentions

Again in December, artist and designer Sarah Boris emailed buddies, artists, writers and musicians with a single request: “ship me 10 resolutions”. She wasn’t planning a e book; she was fascinated with an paintings. However as soon as the replies began rolling in (greater than 70 contributors and over 800 resolutions), the challenge rapidly grew into one thing greater.

The result’s Resolutions, a restricted version, 166-page e book of 26 numbered copies, printed this January to coincide with Sarah’s solo exhibition of the identical identify at Stolen Books Gallery in Lisbon.

For anybody juggling solo follow with collaboration, Resolutions provides a case examine in how a good constraint can unlock surprising outcomes, and the way one clear concept can ripple throughout a number of codecs.

An concept that grew by itself

Earlier than founding her personal follow in 2015, Sarah labored as a designer and artwork director for establishments together with the Barbican, the Institute of Modern Arts and Phaidon. Her work typically takes acquainted symbols and quietly destabilises them. Her Fragile UK Flag (2015), created from tape and blue paper, has appeared at protests and in exhibitions on the Design Museum, and her artist books are in collections on the Stedelijk Museum, the Centre for E-book Arts in New York, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

Resolutions emerged as Sarah ready for her Lisbon exhibition. Stolen Books Gallery invited her to make use of the house as a residency in the course of the present, prompting her to contemplate amassing resolutions as materials for future paintings.

“I hadn’t anticipated making a e book,” she remembers. “However as soon as the submissions began coming in, the sheer quantity made me wish to collect them right into a publication.”

Crucially, she did not ask for only one decision. Every contributor was invited to ship 10, “virtually like a small manifesto,” as she places it. Anonymity was non-compulsory, and some contributors selected it. Touchdown simply as individuals have been closing out the yr, the e-mail grew to become a second of pause. A number of contributors advised Sarah they have been grateful for the immediate; a purpose to replicate quite than rush into January.

Patterns, gaps and surprises

Studying by way of the submissions revealed clear patterns. Self-care got here up time and again: respiration, swimming, dancing. Political resolutions mirrored the present local weather. Others have been deeply private, formed by main life adjustments comparable to turning into a dad or mum.

Studying responses from individuals Sarah knew nicely was particularly transferring. “Understanding what some contributors had been by way of in 2025, their resolutions made me wish to verify in with them,” she says.

The challenge additionally sparked conversations past the e book itself. One contributor, artist Marine Chevanse, advised Sarah she’d repeated the train along with her personal buddies. What started as a personal experiment began quietly spreading.

“That is after I realised it will have an enduring impact,” Sarah says. “Not simply on my follow, however on friendships and connections.”

Why solely 26 copies?

Limiting the e book to 26 copies meant solely a small variety of individuals would learn the resolutions; a type of take care of one thing private. The quantity additionally hyperlinks on to the yr, 2026, explains Sarah. “That informs each the version measurement and the worth, which is €26. These sorts of correlations assist outline a system for the work.”

Equally, Resolutions II is pencilled in for 2027: 27 copies, priced at €27 every. “It is the primary time I’ve began a yr understanding precisely what challenge I wish to end on the finish of it,” she notes.

A impartial container

Design-wise, restraint was key. Sarah used Simplon Mono Common by Swiss Typefaces, giving the textual content a delicate typewriter really feel. The duvet is Smoke Gray Colorplan uncoated inventory, and inside, every contributor has their very own unfold.

“The design wanted to be impartial,” she says. “The e book capabilities as a vessel for the resolutions. I did not need it to change into an train in fashion; that is one thing I am saving for the textile work I will be making this yr.”

Different textile items seem within the Lisbon exhibition, every associated to one among Sarah’s personal resolutions. A big textile made with reclaimed cloth reveals a mouth with a drop of water at its centre (a reminder to drink extra water, but in addition to consider assets). A display screen print of a Mon Chéri fruit label nods to consuming extra fruit.

Two smaller works act as “fortunate charms”: a gilded wishbone for needs, and Sarah’s personal knowledge tooth for knowledge. She describes them as guardians of the resolutions.

Letting the work feed again

Engaged on Resolutions reshaped Sarah’s personal strategy to intention-setting. “It had an enormous affect,” she says. “I ended up making extra resolutions than ever.” As submissions arrived, they triggered new concepts. Fluent in each French and English, Sarah observed she formulated totally different sorts of resolutions in every language. Solely the English ones seem within the e book. “The French ones felt extra intimate,” she says.

For Sarah, books are each completed artworks and areas to assume. “They offer me freedom,” she says. “Like sketching, however with concepts.” This e book feeds immediately into what comes subsequent. Sarah plans to develop new artworks utilizing the collected phrases all through 2026, constructing on her residency analysis and time in Portugal.

A challenge that retains unfolding

Resolutions did not begin as a e book. It started as a query, grew to become an exhibition, grew to become a publication, and now serves as a roadmap for future work. The 26-copy restrict grew to become a conceptual anchor quite than a limitation. The act of asking for resolutions created conversations as helpful because the completed objects.

At a time when creatives are sometimes inspired to maintain disciplines neatly separated, Sarah’s fluid motion between artwork, design, publishing and collaboration feels fairly refreshing. Generally the best tasks are those you do not plan; they’re those that develop just by listening to what needs to occur subsequent.