Birmingham based artists and photographers Andrew Lacon and Stuart Whipps were commissioned for this opportunity as a follow-up to the work they had created for REFERENCE WORKS, the inaugural exhibition at the Library of Birmingham.

The exchange built on their relationship to the Library of Birmingham and commented on the twinning of Birmingham, Guangzhou, China, and their celebrated new library buildings that held an official Memorandum of Understanding.

The artists visited Guangzhou, its library and collections and interrogated the shared and divergent histories of the two cities, exploring a series of complex relationships: The relationship between the materials of the former and current buildings, the similarities and differences that exist between the material housed in the two libraries, and the relationships between the people of the respective cities and their former and present libraries and collections.

The resulting work was exhibited at Guangzhou Library Gallery.

Supported by British Council, Arts Council England, Guangzhou Library and Library of Birmingham