Hundreds of Copies of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four to Feature in Anniversary Artwork

Sculptor Hans K Clausen is to build a living sculpture of George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which will be shown on the Hebridean island of Jura in Scotland where Orwell wrote it during the 1940s.

The Winston Smith Library of Victory and Truth installation, which will be launched on June 8 to mark the 75th anniversary of the book’s publication before going on tour, will feature 1,984 copies of the book which have been donated by members of the public from around the world, including China, Ukraine, South America, Germany, and 20 copies donated from students from the Art and Design class at Cape Cod Community College.

While some are unread, many show obvious signs of use, including annotations, doodles, inscriptions, bookmarks and other inclusions, but he is still taking donations as he is currently just short of the final target. Among them is a water-stained first edition. Edinburgh-based Clausen’s work will invite visitors and open and read any of the volumes.

“‘The Library’ will exist to amplify the enduring significance of Orwell’s final novel, the first book I can remember reading to the end,” said Clausen. “I hope it will stand as a monument to publishing and the defiance of the printed word, and to affirm the timeless power of human story-telling to transcend borders, cultures and ideologies. It should be a celebration of the ethos and principles of public libraries, the pleasure and enlightenment of reading, and the timeless joy of holding a book in your hands.”

The Winston Smith Library of Victory and Truth Promo from Little City Pictures on Vimeo.