Winter Exhibition 2018/2019
XULLUX
An exhibition project by Martin Leuthold with Siegrun Appelt in the Abbey Library
19 December 2018 to 3 March 2019
Usually when you enter a library you can hear the silence. The books muffle the room acoustics. In the Abbey Library of St Gall, on the other hand, the old wooden floor makes us prick up our ears: every step is followed by a creak – sometimes loud, sometimes soft.
The installation XULLUX enables us to see and experience the Baroque Hall in the Abbey Library through fresh eyes due to the effects of reflections and the changing mood of light in the course of the day. The fall of the light, whether natural or artificial, causes the space to change aspect.
The gold and silver lettering on the spines of the books shimmers and is easily visible even in the gloom. It is overlaid by an expansive barcode symbolising a transformation in how knowledge is imparted in the digital age. Our own movements alter our perceptions as we go. An artificial lightning storm transmits signals across the baroque space.
During the installation no original manuscripts will be displayed in the Baroque Hall on conservation grounds.
© Katalin Deér