http://thebritishlibraryinstallation.com/

“The British Library,” a re-installation of an exhibition created by the British/Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare MBE, is now on view at the James Cohan Gallery in New York City. Its web component, accessible in the gallery and online, allows visitors to explore the complete list of names on the show’s 10,000 books and several video documentaries about immigration. There is also a page where we are asked to record our own immigration stories. http://thebritishlibraryinstallation.com/your-stories/

Shonibare designed the work as a celebration of diversity. Originally commissioned in 2014, Cohan’s gallery has been transformed into a place of discovery and debate, featuring an installation of thousands of books “covered in the artist’s signature batik Dutch wax printed cotton textile. On the spines of many of these books are printed the names of notable first and second generation immigrants and incoming migrants to Britain who have moved here throughout history.”

The names include Winston Churchill, Prince Philip, Dame Helen Mirren, and many others. “These immigrants and incoming migrants have all made a significant contribution to aspects of British life and culture, from science to music, art, cinema and literature. Other books feature names of prominent figures who have opposed immigration at various times. Online, the videos investigate the immigration debate from pro-immigration, anti-immigration, and neutral viewpoints.”

The show’s website notes: “Examples of the reasons for immigration can vary from global conflicts to economic factors. Whilst the project is a celebration of the ongoing contributions made to British society by people who have arrived there from other parts of the world or whose ancestors came to Britain as immigrants, it does not exclude the points of view of those who object to it.”

For more information, see http://www.jamescohan.com/exhibitions/2017-02-02_yinka-shonibare-mbe

More about book jackets:
George Thomas Tanselle, Book-Jackets: their History, Forms, and Use (Charlottesville: Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia, 2011). Graphic Arts Collection (GA) 2012-0040N

Kurt Weidemann, [Buchumschläge und Schallplattenhüllen] Book Jackets and Record Covers (New York, Praeger [1969]). Graphic Arts Collection (GA) 2014-0581Q

Charles Rosner, The Art of the Book-Jacket (London: Published for the Victoria and Albert Museum by H.M.S.O., 1949). Graphic Arts Collection (GA) 2009-0369N