Simon Morris commissioned the Canadian architect Michael Farion to design the Z-shelves in 1999, for the ‘bibliomania’ project. Finally, in 2010, and with the support of The Henry Moore Foundation and Arts Council England, the invisible bookshleves were fabricated by Dauphin Restoration in Oxfordshire. Farion’s brief was to design a transparent, self-standing book presentation unit in the spirit of Victor Burgin’s 1969 art work, Photopath. Which is to say, Farion was asked to produce an unintrusive sculpture that could function as a discreet frame for the books it holds, so that they could seemingly float like a constellation of covers and spines.

Here at Whitechapel Gallery the Z-shelves are being used to present iam’s current catalogue of bookworks and DVDs. Please ask the archivist if you would like any additional information on individual titles.