Imagined Worlds: LIKE GODS art installation by Ruth Beale

Eight custom-built giant letters spell the words LIKE GODS, a reference to HG Wells’ novel ‘Men Like Gods’ (1923) an early Science Fiction novel which takes place within a parallel utopian universe. The letters are bookcases, housing over one thousand books, drawn from her father’s extensive collection of science fiction books from the 1950s to the 2010s. books from the artists’ father’s collection. His collection of nearly entirely second-hand books, includes rare and lesser-known works as well as key books in the Sci-fi canon. The collection is the manifestation of a love for reading and for imagining alternate and possible worlds. LIKE GODS acknowledges the human capacity to ‘play god’: to presume to imagine the future, and reshape the present. It also speaks to a lifelong passion for science fiction, and the act of rescuing and keeping books both personally and publicly.

Ruth will also be exhibiting The Stacks. A short film in conversation with the artists’ father, David Beale, as he explores the basement bookstacks of Swiss Cottage Library, selecting science fiction titles, and explaining how he accumulated nearly two thousand of his own books over sixty years. He reflects on his experience as an avid reader and collector, and his enjoyment of ‘hard SF’.

Ruth Beale’s artistic practice troubles the structures and systems that shape society, from institutions to economics, social ties to the public realm. Their work responds to contexts and communities, ultimately to change what kinds of knowledges are valued, who has the power, and who gets to imagine the future. They have worked with public institutions, galleries, local authorities and agencies on collaborative commissions, projects and residencies, including TACO!, Create London, Gasworks, Mansions of the Future, Brent Borough of Culture, Whitstable Biennale, UP Projects, Wysing Arts Centre and BFI. Recent projects include The Hundred Club with TACO!, an experimental creative space that uses arts and play for children to explore social justice issues; and Care & Magic, commissioned by Up Projects and Barnet Council, celebrating 100 years of Edgware suburb with events and interventions specially designed for the local library.

This event is part of the Imagined Worlds series, a month-long celebration of fantasy and sci-fi exploring world-building and utopian and dystopian futures.

Host or Publisher Lewisham Library & Information Service