You Who Read Me Are You Sure of Understanding My Language?

Universe (which others call the Library)…’

This is the sentence with which Jorge Luis Borges begins his essay ‘The Library of Babel’. In this short story, written in 1941, he describes a metaphorical replica of the universe in the form of an infinite library. A library without boundaries, without a centre. A geometric construction filled with uniformly-sized books, housing every possible text or combination of letters. Completely absurd and abstract books, books with seeming confessions or books susceptible to utter unpredictability, which seem not to serve any purpose. Books that tell us about everything that’s been and everything that will be. Books talking about books, or about where to locate other books. Every thought that’s ever been thought, thought of or described can eventually be found in a remote corner of this infinite library.

This publication gives insight into my research that is key to the realisation of my project ‘The Total Library’. This publication questions the philosophical aspects of Borges’ story and furthermore highlights the changing character of publications. I investigate designs that create solutions in order to unite text and metatext, as well as the implication of the idea of infinity.

The typography in the publication reflects the generative character of Borges’ library.