1992

Medium: Mixed media installation / books bound in traditional Chinese and in Western way, tables, chairs

In an investigation of the cultural function and meaning of language, this installation combines 300 volumes of books each previously fabricated by Xu Bing. Dubbed ''problem books'' by the artist, these encompass the works Post Testament, bound in classical Western style, and Book From the Sky, bound in a traditional Chinese manner. While both sets of volumes may initially appear to be traditional, each one is actually a contemporary text designed to be incomprehensible to the reader. The 600 volumes are piled onto a reading table with dimensions of 56 feet by 12 feet, serving as fractured emblems of two cultured systems of knowledge. Above the table, a large sign reading “QUIET” invites the audience to sit and peruse the books. The contrast between the ordered public reading space, emphasized by the “QUIET” warning, and the chaos of the information-less books scattered on the table points to significant cultural implications. 

1992

Medium: Woodblock print on paper

Dimensions: 35 x 250 cm

My Book expands on the concept of the work A, B, C... in the form of a woodblock print. The image is of a hardcover book designed and bound in traditional Western fashion. The book is open to a page that displays a comparison table of the English-to-Chinese transliteration system which Xu Bing developed in A, B, C… Moreover, the words on the page seem to be printed in a script that resembles calligraphy but is composed of ersastz words using the Roman alpabet. Similar to Xu Bing's previous work, Book from the Sky, these words are illegible and incomprehensible. Thus, although My Book might outwardly appear to be a traditional book, its contents remain impossible to read or unerstand.

The structure of My Book is similar to the earlier woodblock print Five Series of Repetitions, as it repeatedly uses the same block and showcases progressive stages of wood carving. In this instance, the wood block starts with a completely unengraved black panel and gradually reveals the image of My Book in its finished form, where it abruptly stops.