Rearranged: the book
On the Origin of Species BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION OR THEPRESERVATION OF FAVOURED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. REARRANGED VERSION v1.0
A conceptual artwork that will spark conversation about the bigger things in life.
Take one controversial book and alphabetise the letters.
That’s it. It’s a starting point for a series of reimagined books based on the same set of characters.
The book is the brainchild of a bored semi-creative person in lockdown within the corona pandemic era. Rather than writing something new, it was easier to repurpose existing content, so why not take something that is as controversial as it is influential.
The origin of species by Charles Darwin is the foundation of a school of thought, with content that is still very contentious to this day. But when does the written words lose their meaning? In this case, it is when the characters are alphabetised. It makes the book in effect illegible. Apart from a few paragraphs in the end, the work has no intrinsic meaning.
On the other hand… the mere fact that this particular work was chosen to be rearranged holds meaning. Since it’s existence is an indictment of those that ban books, will this work also be disputed in the same places the original was banned?
At this moment, only the first version, v1.0 is available. It is made quickly, to be able to have a finished iteration. In the coming months and years, other versions will emerge, as evolution dictates. (very meta) It will become more precise in execution, more visibly appealing… just better. But also the content might evolve into something more interesting, who knows.
For now, it’s up to you to decide to get in from the ground up, or wait for more evolved versions.
