Bibliovia

2013

Urunga Literary Institute Hall

Experimentation with culled library books as physical entities led to this work. Often responsible for imparting knowledge and recording centuries of passing of events: from the private and intimate to the grand and noble books have had the capacity to touch our souls and reach our hearts. Once revered, sometimes venerated; physically humble but an elegantly designed format, the book has evolved over centuries to carry the inks configured into human languages. 

Under challenge from electronic formats libraries are culling books at what some have considered an alarming rate. If there is a sense of loss, what is the source of loss? 

Our hands are a part of the body we use extensively and are highly sensitive to touch. The haptic experience of holding a book may be central to our deep attachment to the traditional book format. The book has been carefully created to sit well in our hands. The clothbound hardback provides tactile connection, collecting our bodily perspiration and oils. In this project the participant is confronted with the prospect of replacing the accustomed handheld connection with that of the stepping foot. To walk on may represent disrespect or disregard.

When obtaining the books for this project library staff nostalgically shared with me how carefully they had considered the binding colours for individual journal titles, - attempting to choose a colour which would convey to the borrower a sense of the subject matter held within.

The scent of paper and a particular glue which was first discovered as a child at Northcote Public Library, Auckland in a favourite children’s story book, if encountered today, this olfactory experience will still evoke for me a deep connection to that time and place.