Simplifying My Library

This visual essay was created by Federico Antonini by combining various images that are linked through the theme of backward shelving – the defunctionalizing practice of positioning books in bookcases with the backs facing the wall and the counter-back (or fore edge) towards the observer. This trend has gained in popularity in recent years with furniture sellers as a way to avoid copyright infringements or complaints of surreptitious advertising. From there it has spread to the fashionable realm of home décor that leans towards a superficial minimalism. But in reality, this practice has a much older and deeply rooted history in publishing, something which Antonini relates here.