Cruising Adrian’s Library
Participatory action, curatorial gesture, 2018.
“Touch this book and let it touch you. Press a finger against its spine. If you feel the book is willing – if the book appears to be as interested in you as you are in it – pull it down from the shelf and into your hands. Finger its pages. Before skimming its words, get into its contours and textures. Stroke its skin. Get to know its form with your hands, or some other parts of its body. Stay aware of how the book touches you as you touch it.”
In response to an invitation to guest curate London literary salon Naked Boys Reading, Nemer created a navigational score of the private library of writer Adrian Rifkin and his partner Dénis Echard.
![]()
The scores were distributed at a party in Rifkin and Echard's garden, and led guests to the library, instructing them to tune into its affective dimensions, to select a book based on the title's erotic promise, and to transcribe a short passage from within its pages.
![]()
The literary salon took the form of a durational performance installation shortly thereafter at LUX Moving Image, and involved each garden party guest reading his selected text in various spots throughout the venue.
