The Curious Invention of M. Shoshani's Library

Scroll of 2 layers (1m x 20m)

1. ink and water, and pencil on white Somerset 120gsm paper,
2. White ink on transparent drafting paper.

The lower scroll on white paper is a transcription of Borges’ short story The Library of Babel. The upper scroll on semi-transparent drafting paper is my own story about M. Shoshani, a mysterious charismatic teacher who appeared in Paris after WW2. The philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and the writer Elie Wiesel both cite Shoshani as an influential teacher. There are scant biographical facts known about Shoshani, and much speculation.

The Library of Babel imagines a library with a logical architectural stucture, echoeing the logical structure of language as combinations of letters. As the story progresses, this logic is pushed to absurdity and breaks down. The transcription, disrupted by water, follows this collapse as the writing becomes more and more illegible. 

This scroll raises questions about the limits of language. The contained knowledge that breaks down and becomes ambigious and suggestive.