Library of babel

In 1948, Jorge Luis Borges wrote the short story “The Library of Babel”. The book describes an infinite library containing every combination of letters in hexagonal rooms. The books contain mostly gibberish but also have everything to ever been written.

The Library of Babel Zine adapts the story into an immersive experience. Two identical Zines were created. Each hexagon contains an extract from the digital version of the library; this is intended to overwhelm the reader. Each page has cut outs, allowing the reader to find a path through the text.

Conveying a sense of infinity was important, the looping patterns of hexagons plastered in gibberish create a sense of futility. My main goal was to create an atmosphere of claustrophobia and endlessness.