THINKING I'D LAST FOREVER 2008–2018, antiquarian books, electronic mechanisms approx. 30cm x 40cm x 20cm (different sizes)
The series „thinking I‘d last forever“ consists of antiquarian books, classics of world literature, which seem to „breathe“ through small mechanisms within. In breathing rhythms individually adapted to the books, their covers are raised and lowered, thereby unfolding the pages, which expose their fragility for a brief moment. Air sneaks into the books and between the pages activating the layers of narrative inscribed into the aged objects: The plots and stories written by the authors as well as traces of the former owners – dedications marking the book as a gift, dog-ears, underlines and inscriptions speaking of affection. With the animation the medium itself, books as knowledge containers and user experience, are questioned regarding their role in the 21st century. The DUET between antiquarian editions of a Bible and a Koran form a special communicative structure in this series: they face each other with their „vulnerable“ sides and yet lie side by side in the correct reading direction. They open and close slowly in different rhythms, which are synchronous, then again asynchronous, unfolding a moving intimacy between them.