Nowadays, people spend more time on their cell phones than reading a book. It is rare to find someone reading a book on public transportation, and no one seems to borrow books from libraries or even visit them anymore. As the number of people reading books decreases, books and bookstores are gradually disappearing as well. In particular, numerous bookstores are disappearing as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as more people are required to stay inside. For example, the offline stores of Yes24, the largest bookstore in Korea, recently closed, as well as many other bookstores did around the world. As a result, the K Museum of Contemporary Art (KMCA) opened the exhibition The Last Bookstore. 

According to the KMCA website, the purpose of the exhibition is to help visitors, no matter the age or gender, experience the nostalgia of books and the bookstores that sell them. This exhibition also portrays the sad reality of the disappearance of books that contain wisdom from previous generations and aims to look back at the preciousness of the knowledge these books possess.

Literary Sculptures

The Last Bookstore is presented with different exhibitions and art pieces located on two open floors. There are various installations as well as unique sculptures that are made purely out of books and book pages. This exhibition also utilizes different light features to symbolize a “great idea,” which connects to the purpose of this exhibition because in order to write a book, creativity is the most important feature. This is why all of the installations contain at least one type of light fixture.

Right when the visitors get off the elevator on the 5th floor of the building, they are introduced to a stack of giant books, setting the mood for the exhibition. As one continues down the exhibition hall, there is a room colored dark red with human-sized mannequin dolls made from pages of newspapers, as well as a wall covered with open books that symbolize a canvas with pen-drawn images on them. The human-sized mannequins project how book pages can be converted to become a new fashion piece. There are also books shaped in different figures hanging from the ceiling like chandeliers and a room containing a large table with green table lamps lined up.

Another piece that can be found on this floor is a wall covered with picture frames of famous writers and small houses made from books. One of the most memorable displays of this floor is a room with different letters from the alphabet falling from the ceiling at different heights and angles. At the center, it is lit up with one white light bulb that creates a shadow around the white room. These falling letters project the power and the importance of individual letters. When these individual letters are combined in different orders, they form words with different meanings.

Next to this, there is another room that has a variety of old television sets on the floor that represent how everyone moved on from books to technology. When entering this room, the viewer can see how the artist projected the sad reality of how technology has taken over the job of books. Rather than having light fixtures to brighten the mood, the television screen creates a dark atmosphere, which is in accordance with what the shift to technology may have done to the value and prevalence of books in our lives.

The second part of the exhibition is located on the 4th floor where the shop, as well as the cafe, is located. On this floor, the most memorable exhibition is the room filled with pages from books covering the workspace from head to toe. This room represents an artist’s workspace as it contains a stool, a ladder, a table, and painted canvases. Lastly, there is a room that has boxes made of book pages, stacked in unique shapes and forms. Each figure has different colored neon lights inside that fill the room with an air of mystery.

Is it Worth it?

The Last Bookstore is an exhibition that aims to make the audience view once again the importance of books. It also takes visitors back in time to experience the nostalgia of books and the art of books themselves. The Last Bookstore has very unique art pieces that are made entirely out of old, recycled books. Every book fanatic will love to visit this museum and find interesting books from the exhibition that they will want to read. However, this exhibition fails to accurately make the audience feel nostalgia. It is rather an exhibition where young teenagers would go to take pictures and leave.

Although the purpose of the exhibition was to allow the audience to experience the special sensibility that one feels when sitting at a bookstore through various contemporary artworks, the art pieces by the various artists fails to connect to each other and create one common atmosphere. Overall, this gallery contains too many different art pieces to fully connect with each one. This exhibition might be perfect for those who want to take pictures; however, it does not clearly reach its goal.

Exhibition Information

Title: The Last Bookstore

Venue: Gangnam K Museum of Contemporary Art

Date: 2020.12.11~2021.6.6

Opening Hours: From 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. (Closed on Mondays)

Ticket Price: 15,000 Won