Kolkata welcomes its new library, albeit temporary, at Goethe Institut – Max Mueller Bhavan. The Infinite Library, the newest addition to the City of Joy, is a travelling virtual reality exhibition which reinvents the concept of libraries through the history of mankind.
A space without books, a space which transcends time, a space which tells the history of the planet; inculcating in people the idea of how libraries as a space are used to transfer knowledge through generations. The installation is an amalgamation of artforms, science, artificial intelligence and virtual reality which not only delves into the past but also poses a question as to what lies ahead.
Photo by Amit Datta
Upon entering the venue, the dimly lit lights give you the feeling of entering a cave, one of the ancient forms of archive known to man. The audio-video narratives are mainly done through an ouroboros, the snake that eats its tail. The venue sets the mood which redefines the library through sensory experiences and tells how the library is as ancient as time. Ancient chants, humming, music, objects like the Neanderthal flute, a model of which is on display corroborates the idea of how the library, in this case the planet itself, is a living archive of the history of mankind. It may not have books but objects that tell the story of a civilisation.
Photo by Amit Datta
Conceptualised by Mika Johnson and his team the installation uses a multi-sensory experience through voice narration, chanting sounds, archaeological information and much more. Johnson told My Kolkata during a special preview of the installation: “Knowledge takes the form of a medium. Oral history predates books massively as do dance, chanting, mask making, forms of architecture, which have deep significance related to the cosmos. Thinking about all these knowledge systems which people don’t really know about was more exciting than thinking about reproducing different libraries with books and things that we do know about. We set about thinking what kind of libraries can be used to tell stories that books can’t tell.’’
About the Library
From cosmic dust to consciousness, a set of eight jars tell the story of human evolution in an interactive mode. Once the visitors get the background, they can progress towards the library through the virtual reality headsets. Currently, the library hosts three sub-libraries. Library of Shadows uses shadow puppetry as a medium of narration drawing from the episodes of Samudra Manthan. Library of Elements speaks of the process of alchemy. The Library of Navigation takes you on a journey of the high seas with the water animals beside you.
Photo by Amit Datta
Astrid Wege, director, Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, said: "The Infinite Library is actually a reflection on what is a concept of a library. Libraries are archives, they are transferring systems of knowledge from one generation to the other. We have a good library at the Institut. So, it came quite naturally that we wanted to have this multi-sensory virtual reality experience and open new horizons as to how to experience systems of knowledge. This is a travelling exhibition which was initiated by Goethe Institut-New Delhi in collaboration with Mika Johnson who is the artistic head of the whole project. It is a library not based on books but reflecting on exactly how we as humankind transfer knowledge or tell a story from one generation to the other. I can only invite everyone to come and get into this immersive experience.’’
The overall experience
Photo by Amit Datta
There are three primary stages of experiencing the installation. The first stage is to get a background of the project and the library narrated through headphones. “The symbol for the library is a universal symbol, the snake that eats its tail, an ouroboros. I found that interesting. They are found in different cultures that have no contact with each other. It seems to me like a rebirth, because we are talking about using new media in reimagining a library. So, it’s a kind of rebirthing the whole concept of a library. It also means a time which goes in a circular loop. This is also a grounding narrative of The Infinite library since it is based on the history of the universe itself," Mika said.
Photo by Amit Datta
The second stage is to scan a QR code which will take each visitor into The Infinite Library dimension. Once you digitally enter the dimension you can scan the different QR codes beside the objects to know more about them or play a game. These objects belong to different periods of history and give a complete background about human evolution.
Photo by Amit Datta
The third stage is to use a Virtual Reality headset and navigator where you can choose any of the sub-libraries to experience for a shorter period of time or go through the entire 20 minutes experience through a sandbox installation. In every stage, visitors can take the assistance of volunteers who are present at the venue.
The Infinite Library is open to the public till September 18, 2022 from 9 am to 8 pm. Prior slot booking at partha.chattopadhyay@goethe.de to visit the installation is mandatory.