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Georgia Heard
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milnecrystallized banned book, 7.5 x 7.75 x 4.75 inches
Twelfth Night by William Shakespearecrystallized banned book, 6 x 6.25 x 2 inches
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowlingcrystallized banned book, 8.5 x 5.5 x 2 inches
Georgia Heard: Crystallized Banned Books 2019
Books have been burned, banned and challenged for multiple reasons: from the 1930’s Nazi literary purge by fire (Säuberung), to present-day book banning including the popular Harry Potter books which have been banned in the U.S. more than any other titles. Since 1990, the American Library Association has received reports of more than 18,000 attempts to ban books from schools and libraries.
My crystallized banned books celebrate and immortalize the beauty, power and timelessness of books. Each book, banned or challenged by a range of institutions and for a variety of reasons, is frozen in time by crystallization and transformed into an enduring piece of art; a geological artifact. I want to show that regardless of constantly changing political beliefs, and shifting societal values, words and books are ageless and will survive. These crystallized books symbolize the tenacity and persistence of truth through language despite attempts throughout history to lock books and ideas away from the hands and hearts of readers. Notwithstanding the continuous onslaught on intellectual freedom – books, and all the wisdom and joy they bring, will live on.