Instead of taking out a book from this library, you can explore an immersive Virtual Reality exhibit and learn about the formation of our planet with the help of a snake.
My feet are in a deserted cave, and I’m standing on sand. A snake named Vasuki surprises me as I take in the sunlight that streams through the canopy above.
I’m encouraged to follow. I do, only to find myself in yet another cavern filled with a mellow red hue and Togalu Gombeyaata puppets from Karnataka floating in midair. Drum sounds flood the air as soon as I touch the puppets, bringing them to life.
Other’s point of view
I am in the Library of Shadows, I am told. But physically, I am at Chennai’s Goethe-Institut library, sporting a VR headset. This is just one of the worlds that make up The Infinite Library, an installation currently travelling through Goethe-Institut libraries across the country, introducing readers to South Indian puppetry, Polynesian navigation and European medieval alchemy.
The physical library is drenched in an unfamiliar green glow. And there are hints everywhere: QR codes, projections on walls and glass jars that house 3D-printed sculptures, illuminated from inside. It makes for a journey that thrives on abstraction but at the same time, tries to answer questions about human evolution.
The Main Cavern, the 15-minute ultimate VR experience that combines all of these elements, gives the user three options for which library to open: Library of Shadows, Elements, or Navigation. I select option number three, and I soon find myself in a boat, gently rocking in the waves with a dog by my side and dolphins joining me for a tranquil trip that lasts till nightfall.
Facts
The creator of this universe is Czech filmmaker Mika Johnson, who in 2019 presented a VR simulation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis at the Goethe-Institut.
In March, The Infinite Library, which has been in development for two years, began its journey. It’s a science fiction idea. We’re attempting to envision how libraries and other technologies will function in the future, says Mika. He predicts a time when everyone will have access to their own stories, and on the basis of those stories, various virtual realities will be created. He continues, “The story this library wishes to tell you begins 4.5 billion years ago and is about how you got here.
Conclusion
Mika claims that a Jorge Juis Borges science fiction tale has had some influence on the exhibit. “At first, I pieced together many libraries from different eras to force people to navigate them. I was reading about evolution at the same time. The first symbols and artefacts we dealt with came from the caves, if you take away the books. That was where he began.
A library is a hallowed place in Mika’s eyes, and he enjoys reinventing them as places where culture can be produced, not simply consumed. His preferred location is Oodi in Helsinki, Finland, where 3D printers, VR rooms, and gaming rooms seamlessly blend in with the actual library.
