Es Devlin returns to Miami Art Week with Library of Us, an immersive installation on the sands of Faena Beach that reimagines the reading experience as a collective ritual. Opened on December 2nd and on display until December 7th, the work stands as one of this year’s most striking public commissions.
A new chapter in the Es Devlin installation legacy is now open
Set directly on the beachfront, Library of Us takes shape as a rotating, 50-foot triangular bookshelf perched above a reflective pool of water. Designed as both sculpture and gathering place, the installation brings together 2,500 books that have influenced Devlin’s creative practice. Arranged with intentional spacing to let light filter through, the volumes glow after dusk, transforming the shoreline into a luminous arena of words.
Devlin has described libraries as places where “minds and imaginations soar,” and this project translates that idea into physical form. Visitors sit around a circular reading table, part of which is fixed and part of which rotates, shifting their vantage point with each slow revolution of the shelf. The result is an ever-changing encounter with strangers, books, and the horizon.
A reading experience reimagined
More than a sculptural gesture, the installation turns the act of reading into a shared performance. An audio score, voiced by Devlin, threads together quotations from the featured books, including works tied to the social and political histories she often references. Text from these excerpts streams across a long LED panel embedded into the structure, adding a rhythmic visual layer to the experience.
This year, Devlin’s focus on language and connection is brought into even sharper relief through a technology integration unfolding throughout Miami Art Week. Visitors can borrow Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, which enable real-time translation between English and Spanish. The glasses allow guests to listen, read, and converse in their native languages—an elegant extension of the installation’s exploration of communication and shared understanding. The translation feature, visible in use throughout the week (including in Ray-Ban Meta’s presence at the installation), deepens the sense of accessibility and dialogue at the heart of Library of Us.
Each day, the artist arranges a new selection of titles for visitors to browse—an intentional pause within the intensity of Art Week. A companion reading room inside the Faena Beach hotel offers a quieter extension of the project, created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Faena Art. At the end of the week, all books will be donated to local libraries and schools.
Library of Us is free and open to the public on Faena Beach, Miami Beach, through December 7th.
Our interview with Es Devlin explores her approach to cultivating daily artistic discipline, her fascination with hybrid architectural forms, and her vision for mending our relationship with the biosphere. Enter the dialogue and discover the philosophies behind her transformative installations.
Photography by ORIOL TARRIDAS
