Amazon's Light
Amazon's Light was made in response to Amazon's list “100 Books to Read in a Lifetime.” Ranging from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to The Autobiography of Malcolm X, the books span a broad range of subjects and audiences, with virtually every book being eligible for Prime. The editors at Amazon state that they want the list to cover “all stages of a life” and not to feel like “homework.” As I considered these intentions, I began to think of the list as a kind of literary canon established by Amazon.
For this project, I made a drawing for every book on Amazon’s list, with each drawing matching the exact size of the book it represents. I traced the outline of each book onto a sheet of paper and then filled it in with graphite. Playing on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (Plato is absent from the list), the drawings function as shadows that have passed in front of Amazon’s light.