Step into the British Library, a great monument of the United Kingdom, expecting an exciting exhibition, where the books would be presented with value. This is not what I experienced.

It starts off actually not really knowing where it starts off. You are in this great big hall and you expect to see  big indications or directions and instead it is a small message on a rather small poster on a not very exposed wall. When you do find it, the start is actually the end and what would logically be the end, is the start. What you generally expect from an exhibition is some sort of separate space from everything else, either one room, or one room after another, something where art has its place.

In this case it was more of a hallway, a space that would usually serve as to get from one point to another. Personally, I found it quite odd. Once more, there was a lack of ‘clear’ indications. This space made it difficult to navigate through the various elements of the exhibition  as it was also very narrow, therefore easily and quickly crowded. It was hard to focus on the elements and information presented to us, as the people trying to pass through gave you little chance of being able to stay in the same spot long enough to finish what you were reading or to enjoy it. On top of that, the lighting really wasn’t great. Which is truly a shame because for this particular exhibition it would have been great to have the books presented under good lighting, which is also what you would expect from a library.

If or when you could see what was in front of you, there actually was an interesting compilation of facts, and the order of the exhibition did make sense. Another positive side about this exhibition is that as an illustrator it got me thinking about the role of the illustrator within the creation of the book and the role of illustration in giving such life to a story. It was interesting to see how much of the success of the book was due to the work of the illustrator. But also to see some examples of the many different versions of Alice in Wonderland and how this story, interpreted by different writers or illustrators was influenced by the period and the issues (political and social) happening at that time and how this showed through changes in the characters and through the illustrations. But it still didn’t really peak my interest or curiosity very much.

Actually, the shop was more thrilling as it was a better representation of the book due to the space, ornaments and presentation.

Unfortunately it was overall, a disappointment. If you are a big fan of Alice in Wonderland you probably wouldn’t find it very exciting or to the image of this world famous book. If you’re not a fan and have never been that interested, this won’t be the event that gets you interested or intrigued.