Edmund de Waal
library of exile

Created as a 'space to sit and read and be', library of exile was an installation by British artist and writer, Edmund de Waal, housing more than 2,000 books in translation, written by exiled authors.

Unveiled to great acclaim during the Venice Biennale 2019, this porcelain-covered pavilion was intended as a place of contemplation and dialogue. 'It is about exile,' said de Waal, 'what it means to have to move to another country, to speak another language.'

From Ovid and Dante to Marina Tsvetaeva and Judith Kerr, the library formed a record of repression while celebrating the response of the displaced.

Almost all of the books are in translation, reflecting the idea of language as a form of migration. Each book has an 'ex libris' label so visitors could write their name inside ones that matter to them. The collection can still be explored through an online catalogue.

Alongside the books hung a quartet of de Waal's own vitrines, psalm, I-IV (2019), holding pieces of porcelain, marble and steel. Their arrangements echoed the composition of Daniel Bomberg's 16th-century edition of the Talmud – a central text of Judaism – printed in Venice and notable for holding the Hebrew text, Aramaic translation and commentary on a single page.

The external walls of the library were painted with liquid porcelain into which de Waal had inscribed the names of the great lost libraries of the world – from Nineveh in sixth-century BC Assyria to those recently lost in Tripoli and Mosul. 

With the installation now closed, the books within the library have now travelled safely to their final home in Iraq, the University of Mosul, with the generous support of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq.

Throughout the exhibition run, there was a rich programme of virtual events including a series of panel discussions presented in collaboration with English PEN on themes raised by the library of exile.