To The Internal Libraries 2021-2025

To the Internal Libraries, Solo Exhibition, The National Library of Israel

The invisible network of trajectories, which for over 60 years carried millions of books from the basement of the National Library on Givat Ram to those awaiting them in the reading rooms, is revealed in the video installation by artist Hadassa Goldvicht, which captures the overall experience of the Library. Like a Russian nesting doll that contains within it a series of increasingly smaller dolls, “To the Internal Libraries” contains not only the previous incarnation of the National Library of Israel, but also its personal, physical and spiritual incarnation in the present, and even those awaiting us in the future.

Goldvicht’s dive into the depths of the building presents the Library as a living, pulsating, evolving body, which was taken apart only to be reincarnated again. In doing so, her work is revealed as a journey through time, from the Jewish National University Library to its present incarnation as the National Library of Israel, and on to the tremendous potential embedded in its future. It is a journey that alludes to the infinite nature of human spirit and imagination, as embodied by the Library.

Curator: Netta Assaf

Associate curator: Karine Shabtai