"(self)care" is a self-published photo book shot and designed by elle lee. this book tenderly marries the grotesque and the beautiful in a self exploration of care routines following an accident, asking readers to reflect on their own care routines

1. care
(self)

2. breathe in

3. michelle lee
d’alessandro
design capstone
spring 2023
what does care
look like?

4. home//stranger
SELF
skin memory
lost and found
routine
CARE
hair
cleanse
help
tools
end
table of
contents
00
2-0
0
2 8
46
56
64
7 0
84
100

5. my body is my home
02 03

6. i am meat and blood
and bone. what more?

8. what does the skin
remember?
what do i?
09

9. 3 seconds skidding across asphalt 3 months of recovering and caring for my body

10. 12 13

11. how do we care for
our skin? what stories
does it tell?

12. 17

13. so much expression
stored within the folds
of our body. the same
cheeks that laugh in joy
will tense for pain
relief, comfort.
repetitive practice
devoted to our bodies
18 19

14. how many of our daily
practices are love
stories to ourselves?
how many of them
would we continue if
only for ourselves?

16. 24 25

19. 30 31

22. 36 37

24. 40 41

25. 42

27. the decay of practice
and adornment
routine

28. 48 49

30. 53

33. routine
burden
expression
style
evidence
how much identity is
stored in our hair, what
can we reclaim from
its care?
what is it saying when
we can no longer
bother, no longer
manage, when it falls to
the wayside?
hair as care
identity
58 59

35. care and challenge meet
62 63

37. scrub cleanse agitate renew
66 67

38. dipping cloth into the
same small tub that
held me as a baby.
now i hold the cloth,
tenderly washing soap
with lukewwarm water
68

41. what care do
we receive
from others?

42. when is it provided
because we cannot give
it to ourselves?
how often is it not
provided even when we
need it?
76

44. wrap inject dry apply
80 81

46. tools, supplies, and waste

47. plastic, foil, cotton.
to use and dispose.

48. 88 89

49. 91

50. 93

51. all that remains

52. self(care)
was photographed and designed
by Michelle Lee D’Alessandro for
personal exploration, arranged for the
fulfillment of a graphic design degree
in the spring of 2023.
Body type in Aaux Next set to 8pt
printed onto standard paper and
bound by third party.
1001