W r a p p i n g … the word was heard everywhere: on the streets, in the shops, when people discussed buying or selling.
The action gradually aqquired the dimension of a ritual.
It became a symbolic act:
Somewhere at the threshold between miserable reality,
Scorn
Contempt,
And
Ridicule
There emerged suddenly
A growing shadow of pathos.
Instinctively, I sensed,
And to be more precise I still do,
An imminent threat to the highest
Spiritual human value.
It was, and still is, necessary to
P r o t e c t it
From destruction,
From time,
From the primitive decrees of the authoritities
From the questioning by the official and slow-
Minded judges.
And thus the decision
To w r a p it up!
To Preserve it!
(Kobialka, 2007, 88)
There are many intentions behind the decision to actively wrap something up, to keep it hidden from the rest of the world. It could be a surprise, a secret, it could be sleeping, something that withholds shame or a means of pausing time with the use of an outer shell. Tadeusz Kantor introduced the idea of ‘emballages’, which are objects that “performed a double function in life. They protected their contents from destruction or view” (Kobialka, 2007, 88-89). In many ways a libraries function could be considered an emballage, as its main purpose is to store and protect sources of knowledge for other people to encounter and learn from. However, in terms of architecture, the Great Central Library Warehouse has now become an emballage itself through its structure, with the superimposed modern fixtures and architecture providing an extra layer around the building that actively protects and preserves its heritage, as seen in image 1.
Image 1 – Outside architecture, Great Central Library Warehouse (2014)
Through our installation and filmed performance, we intend to bring together the past and present through the notion of preserving them as one object, rather than as individual features from two different time periods. As seen in image 2, the preservation of the human body in this instance helps provide the link between the new and the old, with the material draping from the body towards both the original brickwork and the computer. This physical connection is visually highlighting the combination of the past and present for people who perhaps visit the building regularly for its modern function as a library but never acknowledge the history lying beside its contemporary features. Human labour has always been rooted within this building, whether it was the physical labour of working in a warehouse or the labour of knowledge as carried out today, thus the decision to preserve a human body, not dissimilar to mummification, we felt was an important one in order to represent the past, present and future involvement of working bodies within the space, whether it be physical or intellectual.
Image 2 – The Preservation of a human body, Great Central Library Warehouse (2014).
“Architecture emancipates us from the embrace of the present and allows us to experience the slow, healing flow of times… [buildings] enable us to see and understand the passing of history, and to participate in time cycles that surpass individual life”.
(Pallasmaa 2005)
Image 3 depicts the use of material to emphasize and attract attention to the original wooden beams that run along the ceiling on the third floor. The invasion of the present space encourages the library user to lose focus of what is in front of them and look up towards the original supports. As mentioned by Pallasmaa, we can understand the passing of history through architecture in one single snapshot, in this case through the electrical lighting running along the wooden beams. The intention is to have material running right the way along one beam, bringing the spectators attention the other exposed beams in the room in order for them to predict what is underneath.
Image 3 – Preservation of original features, Great Central Library Warehouse (2014).
Sometimes it just takes the preservation of one object to spark intrigue in its surroundings.
Works Cited
Kobialka, M. (2007) Tadeusz Kantor: Collector and historian. Performance Research: A Journal of the Performing Arts, 12(4) 78-96.
Pallasmaa, J. (2005) The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and The Senses, Chichester: Wiley
