Inbindable Volume at VIVID
It’s a good time to be a book-lover in Digbeth. On Saturday, I went to see Inbindable Volume at VIVID – a video installation by Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry projected onto three large screens with narration that ‘describes the lifespan of a building from conception to abandonment’, but what I loved about it was the lingering shots of Birmingham Central Library’s Brutalist architecture and lots of lovely books…
Birmingham Forward: a symbol for endless demolition?
After I watched the film it was time for local historian Chris Upton and author Catherine O’Flynn to discuss their reactions to the piece, which were pretty insightful. Catherine described herself as being in a ‘perpetual state of nostalgia’ for lots of lost Birmingham buildings and wondered aloud if the hammer on the Birmingham Forward symbol is a motif for the endless demolition that takes place? Both her and Chris seemed to agree that, whatever our feelings towards the aesthetics of Brutalism, to wipe away the physical mark of an important piece of Birmingham history would be like erasing a piece of the city’s memory.
Fellow book lovers may also be interested in a talk at Eastside Projects this Thursday 19th August from curator Moritz Küng in the third of a series of book talks:
In the spirit of ‘Curating the Library’ (founded by Küng at deSingel in 2003) Küng has been invited to select publications to become part of the Eastside Projects Library. His selections have been on display at Eastside Projects throughout ‘Book Show‘, and on Thursday Küng will discuss how each title informs his practice.
The talk starts at 6.30pm, is free to ‘Extra Special People Members‘ and £3 to Non-Members.
