READING: THE DRUG ADDICT'S READING LIST

The Nova Library will be on display during regular library hours on
the main floor of the Vancouver Public Library's Central Branch (350
West Georgia Street), until November 30.

"Maybe we need to condemn addicted people to make ourselves [feel]
better," suggests artist Hans Winkler. Born and raised in the Bavaria
region of Germany, Winkler is responsible for the creation of the Nova
Library, a collection of books chosen by drug users and ex-addicts of
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Produced by the Grunt Gallery, this
interactive exhibit is a collection of approximately 500 books that
"represents the spirit, ideas, and creativity" of that unique population.

The name Nova Library was inspired by the book Nova Express by William
S. Burroughs -- renowned author, drug user, and beatnik -- just one of
the books included in the interesting, and surprising, collection. The
project attempts to narrow the gap between "us" and "them." It shows
that we are all living beings with minds capable of containing
thoughts, and thoughts that may not be so different from each other.

Winkler's interactive art has been responsible for bringing many
regional social issues to light. Between 1988 and 2000, Winkler and an
associate operated under the name P. T. T. Red (Paint The Town Red),
creating many pieces in public space. Some of their "social
sculptures" include self-producing a newspaper in Istanbul earlier
this year with 15 young Turkish artists, focused on walking and
working in public space. The paper was intended to open the eyes of
the readers to help them discover the aesthetic value of everyday life.

In 2002, Winkler created his sinking gondola project in Venice, Italy,
that mimicked the reality of the permanently sinking city. Winkler was
also responsible for a piece in which red film footage was projected
onto the Statue of Liberty. This bathed Lady Liberty in a warm, red
glow that lasted until authorities clued in and dismantled the exhibit.

"My art is based on site-specific work," Winkler said in an interview.
"So I try to intervene into the city -- work with their symbols, my
impression of the city, and the people -- and to involve their ideas
into the art piece."

So when Winkler was asked two years ago by the curator of the Grunt
Gallery, Glen Alteen, to do a Vancouver-based project, he readily
accepted. After an extensive scouring of the city on foot, he became
very interested in the dichotomy between the city's beautiful
surrounding landscape, and the image and surroundings of the Downtown
Eastside.

Wandering through the area, he often noticed "many drug users sitting
and reading."

He often discussed the concept of the Nova Library with the people he
saw. "They just got the idea immediately and they liked it," Winkler
said.

"It became a very democratic and public intervention for the public
library," he explained.

As democratic as it may have begun, when art met bureaucratic
institution, things ceased to run as smoothly. Winkler had to downsize
his ideas: accept a smaller number of books to be on display, and a
smaller space than was anticipated. He explains that he was refused
the right and the funds to do construction in the space he initially
desired, and was unable to hang banners from the cement roof as he had
planned.

He was quite reluctant to follow that unbreakable rule of never
posting or painting anything on the cement pillars. If he'd hoped that
the word "Nova" painted in bold black letters on the central pillar
would go unnoticed, it wasn't to be.

Despite complications, both parties ended up pleased with the outcome.
"It was part of the project," said Winkler. "Two worlds are getting
into a conversation, a dialogue . . . and by the end of the process I
got a wide, interesting, and beautiful selection."