We sat down with Lizzi Bougatsos to talk about her brand new, limited-edition book, Her Perfume Tears. The book draws on Lizzi’s lifetime in the arts, so it was a great opportunity to catch up with her about life on the road, her practice as an artist, and plans for the future.
What was it like looking through all these archives of photos? You must have gone pretty deep into memory lane territory. Was it a pretty nostalgic process? It was difficult. As if I was going through a breakup. Diving into yourself always feels a bit naughty, too, even if it is the past…
Did it bring back any specific memories you were surprised you’d forgotten about? No, but the tour photos made me think about how to do a tour better. Made me want to play live and tour more as well. Can you tell us about the overall process of putting the book together? What was it like working with your co-editors? What was the initial inspiration to create the book? Well, Boo-Hooray was interested in doing a book on my band Gang Gang Dance, but I was on a for a while so I was turning the focus on myself completely. The other editor and publisher, Amanda Keeley from Exile Books, said why don’t you do a Lizzi Book? Or it was my idea? I’m not sure, but I knew I needed to tell my New York story from my point of view and that was that.