CLB Berlin: Virtual Experience – The Infinite Library – A multi-sensory VR experience that reinvents libraries | 29.09.-14.10.2023

The “Infinite Library” is not a place full of books. It is no ordinary library, no conventional institution. It is a unique experience that unfolds in a virtual environment and transports visitors into a fascinating world of knowledge and stories.

Fig. above: Photo: The Infinite Library VR stills – (c) Mika Johnson

The Infinite Library is a travelling installation that reimagines the future of libraries as interactive spaces, engaging visitors through multi-sensory forms of storytelling. In doing so, it goes far beyond the traditional notion of a library and integrates human stories into a much larger narrative context that encompasses the formation of our planet and the evolution of all life forms.

The heart of the installation exists in virtual reality, which is home to the “Infinite Library”. Smaller sub-libraries are presented here. Each is dedicated to a specific theme and conveys a practical knowledge system that can be experienced in a unique way. These areas are dedicated to South Indian puppetry, European alchemy and Polynesian navigation.

Behind the “Infinite Library” are the multimedia artist Mika Johnson and the VR production studios High Road Stories and Daisy with Rider. The conception was supported by experts in the fields of Indian shadow puppet theatre, Polynesian navigation and European alchemy.

Quote:
“The Infinite Library is not crammed with books. Nor is it a building. Nor does it resemble anything resembling a traditional library. It is an experience that takes place in a virtual cave, with access to small chambers that serve as portals or micro-worlds and allow time travel. Under the cave flows an underground river that connects all the chambers, like the nodes of rhizome roots branching horizontally, all deep in the womb of the earth. Each node, in turn, has its own centre or seed ready to grow to the surface through a hole in the ground when you activate the knowledge within. The unity of these knowledge systems, together with culture and nature, is the core of this project. It is the guiding metaphor of the library. From star to stone, there is no top or bottom in the Infinite Library. There is only knowledge in every corner where we seek to discover and understand it.”

The real installation of the “Infinite Library” in the exhibition space consists of various elements. Visitors enter an artfully designed room with 3D-printed models in glasses, accompanied by audiovisual works and plants.

The “Infinite Library” was first presented in New Delhi, India, in March 2022 and is now being presented in Berlin for the first time.

Details about the exhibition:

WHERE?

CLB Berlin
Aufbau Haus at Moritzplatz
Prinzenstrasse 84.2
10969 Berlin

WHEN?

Opening:

Thursday, 28.09.2023, 6:00 p.m.
Free admission

29.09.-14.10.2023
Tuesday-Saturday, 3:00pm-7:00pm

COSTS:
6,- Euro per person