Victoria Reichelt After (books)

With the invention of ebooks, audiobooks and the proliferation of online news and research, the way we receive information is fast changing. Modern-day libraries are as busy as ever these days but people are using the facilities in very different ways, and oddly, the quietest areas tend to be those where the books are. This painting is from a series that considers the changing roles of library spaces as they adjust to keep up with new technologies.

The paintings in this series use the juxtaposition of animals within library environments to consider the changing roles of these spaces. The animals wander through stacks and shelves as they would a forest, tentatively interacting with their foreign environments but never looking very comfortable. The animals hint at the alien way we too may feel about rooms full of books in years to come.

- Victoria Reichelt