From our exhibition Athena Tacha, The Complete Bookworks 1970 to Present: “Tacha’s accordion-fold pocket books are “meditations on a particular aspect of life, describing ordinary acts and phenomena such as scratching dandruff from the scalp, considering which groceries to buy in the supermarket, or the appearance of wrinkles with age. Tacha’s reflections bring to light the broader implications of these seemingly commonplace events, making allusions to the ecological, sociological, and political impacts of our personal choices and emotions and visa versa. Just as often, Tacha’s reflections stay within the intimate scope of the act or object described and leave the reader to draw their own conclusions.”

Reaching 84 is the seventh and most recent installment of her Process of Aging series that began in 1974 at the age of 38. In this essay Tacha gives a detailed account of the present state of her body and how her memory has changed over the years.