For nearly two decades, I have photographed books in public libraries. They aren’t touched, artificially lit, or manipulated. Bound by a librarian, found in the stacks, they are documented as left by the last reader. In libraries around the world, these volumes are being deaccessioned, making them a rarity in the real world and a first in the digital realm. Included in my NFT Genesis collection are some of the most iconic titles of the 20th century, together creating an assembly of cultural archives lost. Each NFT is part of a triptych of the same title, and collectively all three create a set that will be brought together and disbursed along the blockchain, referencing their movement in the physical world. The Library of Obsolescence presents a shift in cultural values; the spines are mantras of particular moments in our history and take on new meaning as repositories for the future.

LOOK magazine. Published 1937-1971. Photographed at University of Missouri Miller Nichols Library, Kansas City, MO USA, 2008