Engraved Void

We are living in a time when too many things are disappearing. Yet, not all things vanish because they have lost their meaning or value. Some still retain the potential to convey significance and resonance to us.

Author Han Kang, Nobel Prize in Literature 2024, asked, “Can the past help the future? Can the dead save the living?”

This question suggests that what has disappeared can still exert influence upon the present. In this project, we focus on the discarded books from the Seoul National University Library. By using books — the tangible medium of knowledge — as artistic tools to capture invisible afterimages, we aim to transform them into a new medium of expression. Through this process, we hope visitors will experience books as an artistic material in a completely new way.