It took eight strong men to lift a massive, seven-metre high tower of 500 books weighing about 150kg for an artistic installation at the Book Fair, which opens today at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.
The brain behind the installation, called Valanga ta’ Kliem (an avalanche of words), is Marie Louise Kold, an internationally renowned, bubbly Danish artist who spent a day directing the elaborate set-up, at times using her own weight to crane up the books.
Ms Kold, 38, a regular visitor to Malta, approached the National Book Council with her idea of a tower of books “reaching out to heaven” and they immediately took it up.
It took about three days for the 500 discarded books to be drilled and a seven-metre tension wire passed through them.
“All the books, from the Central Library in Floriana, were to be recycled. No books were hurt in making this installation,” she quipped.
The installation, which will be the main attraction at the Malta Book Fair, required days of sketching and planning.
This is the first time Ms Kold has worked with books as her usual medium is metal but, as a book lover herself, she was very excited about her installation.
“Even when I work in metal I make use of text.
“I simply love the graphic elements of words,” she said.
This year, the council is aiming to give visitors an all-round cultural experience. A stage will be set up at the back of the MCC where people from the book industry will be interviewed round the clock.
“The fair is a work in progress. We are always finding new ways to make in an interactive experience for book lovers,” said council president Ġorġ Mallia.
The council wants people to have “as many books as possible in their houses”, he said.
The fair attracts about 18,000 visitors every year, which was good considering that, as a nation, the Maltese were not particularly enamoured of books.
The council is hoping book lovers bring their friends along.
“And we hope they catch the reading bug... a sea of books will definitely touch the heart, even of those who can’t stand the sight of books,” he said.
The Book Fair runs until Sunday.