The Rare Works Library (Bora) hosts the exhibition "The Universe (which others call the library)" by artist Olívia Niemeyer until November 5th. The exhibition, which opened on October 2nd, is part of the Book Week program and invites the public to reflect on the symbolic and aesthetic value of old books. Admission is free and open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 17 p.m.
The exhibition's proposal arose from the artist's affection for books. Upon inheriting her father's collection, who used to buy entire libraries and legal rarities, Olívia was faced with the question of what to do with volumes that had deteriorated over time. "I inherited many books, many of them already very damaged. The question was what to do with them. So I decided to photograph them, observe up close what was deteriorating, and discover the beauty in what remained," said the artist.
The images in the exhibition explore the details of books marked by the years. Olívia's perspective reveals the materiality of the book as a testament to time, memory, and passage. "I photographed the details of the pages, the textures, the damaged bindings. Sometimes I would open a book, see the holes made by insects, and find it beautiful what time does to paper," she said.
The creative process was technically supervised by photographer Isabela Senatore, who helped define the lighting and composition. The result is a series of photographs that relate to quotes from Jorge Luis Borges, scattered throughout the exhibition. The choice of the Argentine writer was no accident. For Olívia, the idea that "a library is a universe" sums up the exhibition's meaning. "When I enter a library and see that infinite number of books, I think there's no end. It truly is a universe, and if it ever ends, it will be a tragedy," she commented.
Olivia's relationship with Bora began with the donation of some of her books, which sparked the team's interest in the possibility of transforming the act of preservation into an aesthetic experience. "BORA works with preservation and access. Olivia's photos reflect this, because they treat the book as a historical object, but also transform it into a work of art," explained Danielle Thiago Ferreira, the library's technical coordinator.
The montage, adapted for the library space, was developed by Isabella Nascimento Pereira, supervisor of the processing, research, and dissemination area at BORA, who emphasizes the dialogue between the environment and the images. "The space already has an atmosphere of memory, so the enlargements against the black background and Borges's texts created a very powerful ambiance," she observed.
The exhibition also includes a video with text by anthropologist Fabiana Bruno, a professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH), expanding the understanding of the works. For Olívia, the work is an invitation to contemplate and respect books, without confining them to the idea of an untouchable object. "What I hope is that people feel respect for books, but not a kind of immobilizing respect. Tradition is to be praised, disseminated, and surpassed. That's what keeps everything alive," she reflected.
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