I invited the people of Denmark to send me a letter!
I’ve made a new work to commemorate the end of the Danish Postal Service – PostNord stopped delivering letters at the end of December 2025.
The way we communicate has changed so much over the years. The Second World War love letters that I have used in my work are beautifully composed expressions of affection written by ordinary people. We just don’t express ourselves in writing like this in the same way now. I love receiving a handwritten letter or card but it doesn’t happen nearly so often as it used to.
PostNord ending their delivery of letters and removing the post boxes feels like such a significant moment that I wanted to mark it by creating some art.
I invited the people of Denmark to write to me (in Danish or English) before the final collection from post boxes by PostNord on 30 December. I received letters from people expressing their sadness at the end of the postal service, sharing memories of letters they’d received, and including postcards and pictures.
An accompanying soundscape has been specially composed by Laura Reid and uses a French horn, taking inspiration from the post horn which appeared on Denmark’s post boxes. When the postal service began, the post horn would be sounded to announce the arrival of the letters. Voices reading the letters’ text are layered over the music.
‘The Last Post’ is at Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton, Devon, England from 16 May until 27 June 2026.
Read the article in The Guardian
Listen to the coverage on BBC Global
(scroll forward to 22 minutes)
Gillian Taylor 