Safety Check

Olga Deryugina’s book is a research project on the subject of safety. Drawing on the works of Pascal Gielen, Siegfried Zielinski, and other scholars, the artist traced the evolution of the concept of safety from antiquity to the present. Her references were purchased by the Museum and made available in Garage Library.

There are few of the artist’s own texts in the book. The majority of the content comprises quotes from academic sources. “I based the idea on Roland Barthes’ books The Neutral: Lecture Course at the College de France 1977–1978 (2002) and How to Live Together: Novelistic Simulations of Some Everyday Spaces (2002), which are, strictly speaking, notes from lectures,” the artist explains. “I thought that this format, which is fact‑filled and encourages multiple readings, representing the author’s thinking but not foregrounding it, most suited my ideas.”

The text material is supplemented with digital drawings that reference the aesthetic of safety instructions, something that surrounds people today. The book is made using digital printing and bound with a metal staple.

The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy.