Lost Library Legends

In the Round Tower’s former library, where books and shelves have long disappeared, you find yourself piecing together the fragments of a forgotten legacy. Step into a library of tangible collections, trash and treasures that weave together past, present and twisted tales that span centuries.

What truly endures as we depart this world? What is kept, what is lost and what fragments live on once we die? These timeless questions are at the center of “Lost Library Legends”. The exhibition by German-born artist duo Christoph and Sebastian Mügge is set in the historical Library Hall that was home to the University of Copenhagen’s book collection for two centuries.

Rubbish, Relics and Alternate Realities

The site-specific installation guides you through the corridors of time where undocumented history is reconstructed, and the lines between fact and fiction blur. The exhibition playfully contemplates profound questions about life and death, the true meaning of legacy, and what holds value across generations. It whimsically addresses the challenge of dealing with a treasure trove of eccentric collections, piecing together scattered items and narratives in a melange of rubbish and riches, wisdom and whimsy, facts, confusion and misinformation.

Various art forms, including drawings and digital prints, are showcased alongside extensive collections of everyday items such as grocery lists, tin cans, toilet paper collections and cigarette packs. With humorous anecdotes, the Mügge brothers also stir up the history and characters related to the Round Tower, unveiling intriguing misrepresentations of iconic figures such as King Christian IV and Tycho Brahe.

As you navigate this immersive, evocative experience, be guided towards fresh insights into your own legacy – an amalgamation of the deeply personal and seemingly trivial, the sacred and even the blushingly embarrassing; facets that are often concealed from the public eye.

About the artists

Sebastian and Christoph Mügge are German-born artists who now reside in Sweden. As a duo they realise large-scale site-specific projects based on a combination of found material and their own distinct styles in a variety of techniques.

Their exhibitions explore themes such as how conflict affects our everyday lives, the remnants we imprint on the physical and digital realms upon our passing, the challenge of storytelling and distortions that can befall historical truths. Factual narratives are interwoven with humor and alternative realities, blurring the lines that demarcate truth from fiction.

The exhibition is on display at the Round Tower until August 11th at 16.00.

Past exhibitions