LONDON.- Unveiled on Saturday 20 June, the eve of the summer solstice, with the likes of DJ Yoda and founder of Burning Man, Larry Harvey, the installation juxtaposes images from the British Library's millions of digitised book illustrations released onto Flickr.
Originally created for Burning Man 2014, David Normal used Victorian Era book illustrations exclusively from
the British Library’s digitised collections to create the artwork. Beginning as black and white collages, the four pieces which make up the artwork were developed into 8’ x 20’ lightbox murals that were arrayed around the base of the Burning Man effigy to support the 2014 festival’s theme, ‘Caravansary’.
The installation incorporates an augmented reality self-guided tour that will allow viewers to explore the meaning and origins of the painting’s symbols using Blippar. Visitors can scan the murals using cameras on a phone to call up the collage source material on the phone’s screen and then interact with the artist’s interpretations.
Visual artist David Normal, said: “Who would have guessed that a few obscure digital images, seemingly so insubstantial, could combine to form new meanings with such resonance that they are presented on a monumental scale? It demonstrates the inspiring power and importance of digitised library collections. Now the murals literally sit above the books from which their images derived – a kind of poetic justice fittingly within The Poet's Circle on the Library’s piazza.”
The artwork was presented on Saturday 20 June. Talks with artist David Normal, Larry Harvey, founder of the Burning Man Festival, and Viktor Wynd of the Last Tuesday Society and the Museum of Curiosity, were followed by an exclusive outdoor launch party featuring the illumination of the installation at dusk, with performances, readings, and artwork. The evening was accompanied by scratch-and-mix DJ Yoda, who has also experimented and created new tracks with BL sound collections.
The installation, Crossroads of Curiosity, will be displayed on the British Library’s piazza until 8 November and is free to the public.
