The National Library of Luxembourg is inviting to the exhibition opening of The Windbook, by American photographic artist Accra Shepp on the 31 May 2018 at 6 pm.
Accra Shepp has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the US and abroad. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the New York Public Library, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Walther Collection, the Museum of the City of New York and Princeton University, as well as in numerous books and publications.
In 2014, Accra Shepp worked with 20 art students at the International School in Luxembourg. He instructed them in how to photograph people in the public squares and to collect short narratives from them about their personal lives or backgrounds. The aim was to address Luxembourg’s relationship with national identity, personal history and diversity. Shepp gathered this material and reshaped it into a large-scale book, which became the Windbook.
The Windbook will be exhibited in the courtyard of the National Library of Luxembourg until December 2018. The book will be exposed to the elements and the wind will turn its pages for viewers to observe. After several months outdoors, the pages of the book will have fused together to form a sculptural, wave-like shape. By positioning it outside, away from the viewers’ hands, Shepp subverts human agency. The book does not obey our bidding but instead the larger forces of the world to which all are subject and reminds us of the limitations of the human reach.
The exhibition opening will be held in presence of the artist and the entrance is free.
About our artist’s book collection
The National Library has a large collection of artists’ books and bibliophilic books, which includes many unique works. From illustrated poetry and conceptual works to books with paintings, engravings or typographic experimentations, the collection testifies to the achievements of book artists over the past century. It includes 280 Luxembourg artists’ books and around 1.400 works by international artists. With this in mind, the National Library acquired two copies of the Windbook created by the American artist and the students of ISL.
Press release by the Luxembourg National Library