To celebrate the installation of Wind Sculpture (SG) I, 2018, a large-scale outdoor work by Yinka Shonibare CBE, permanently installed on campus at Davidson College North Carolina, the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College present, The American Library, an exhibition featuring Shonibare’s installation of the same name, alongside sculptures, photographs and a film.
The centrepiece of the exhibition, The American Library, first premiered in July 2018 at the FRONT Art Triennial and was installed in the main branch of the Cleveland Public Library. The installation celebrates the diversity of the American population and acts as an instigator of debate. The work consists of a set of shelves filled with over 6,000 books bound in the artist’s signature brightly coloured, Dutch wax printed cotton fabric. Embossed in gold on the spines of over 3,000 of the books are the names of several generations of immigrants including some descendants of those who landed on American shores by force, through slavery. On iPads around the gallery, visitors can access more information about the individuals in the library – all of whom have benefited from immigration, yet some of whom hold anti-immigration views.