My last cultural day out before the shut-down was visiting galleries with Tabish Khan of The Londonist and already feels like an age ago. I don’t normally mention my exhibition companions but it’s only fair to include him as he’s in the photo above and did suggest the venues that day.
The Library of Exile by Edmund de Waal is a white porcelain-walled box with partially obscured writing on the outside – I walked around it before entering the space, described as a place to sit, read and be.
Bookshelves are arranged alphabetically by country and you are encouraged to browse, read any of the 2,000 books and then write your name in the one that means something to you. The atmosphere is very serene, aided by the artist’s ceramic installations.
Some books were obvious but one in the children’s section was a bit of a surprise: The Very Hungry Caterpillar banned?
We weren’t able to stay as long as we’d like due to the museum closing for the night but still managed each to write in a book that meant something to us.
