Xu Bing Book from the Ground: From • to • (front and back covers), 2012 Print on paper Each: 22.5 x 31 cm (set of 64) Book from the Ground was created with the intention to be read by people from various cultures and linguistic backgrounds without further translation. As a frequent traveler, Xu noticed the omnipresent pictograms that guided him efficiently even in foreign countries whose language he did not speak or read. He began to collect, analyze and classify labels since 2003 in areas such as mathematics, chemistry, physics, music, choreography and more to produce a new language that can be universally understood by contemporary society. After a decade, he produced Book from the Ground that even an illiterate can read. ESLITE GALLERY was the first publisher of Book from the Ground in the world and the book was released in the International Book Exhibition in Taipei in 2012. The book comes in 128 pages including front and back covers, and is written entirely in pictograms and symbols even in the copyright page. In our booth, Xu Bing displays the work in its entirety with every double-page framed to thoroughly display his concept.
