Feb 9, 2007

UNBOUND



February 2006
Central Library from the Catholic University / Leuven, Belgium


5,000 matchbooks that made reference to the library’s tragic history were installed in the lobby of the Central Library of the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium. One of the oldest libraries in Europe, it has lost its collection to fire during both world wars.

Inscribed with a phrase by Ben Akiba ‘Paper burns but words fly away,’ the matchbooks were free for anyone to take, in hope that the message would travel through the city. These little ‘books’ were made to be torn apart and burned.