Lydia Hiraide is a PhD student researching environmental politics at Goldsmiths, University of London. During her placement at the British Library she worked to understand the role of libraries in tackling climate change. To help find some answers, she collaborated with colleagues from London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Wakefield and further afield with colleagues in Europe and Africa. Lydia presented her findings at the National Libraries Now conference in September and here’s a summary of what she found out:

For three months over the summer I worked as a PhD placement student at the British Library in their Public Policy team. My placement allowed me to see my work used far beyond the world of academic research and help shape conversations about how the Library can approach climate change.

Before stepping into my role, the Library had already made steps to taking more responsibility for its actions. By reducing carbon emissions by 26.4% over the last 10 years the Library has made a great start on its path to net zero. Now it has secured over £8 million through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and sustainability consultants to help reset its goals in light of the climate emergency. And with this progress the Library can now develop a roadmap to achieve its bigger ambitions.

But, beyond being responsible for their own emissions, what is the role of a national library in the climate conversation? The conversation around climate change can be overwhelming. It’s a collective problem with many nuances, and it throws up questions around social inequality, youth empowerment and changes in economies. So how can a library help navigate this fast-evolving world?

A trusted source of information

Reliable information is a key resource in tackling climate change. And how we verify and communicate it brings many challenges but, importantly, libraries can provide and validate information to anybody wishing to access it. It is intriguing to think about the different purposes this information can be used for. From informing public debate and helping small businesses to develop sustainable practices, to supporting scientific research which could help us find real-world solutions.

A network of change

My experience in the Public Policy team encouraged me to think about how such a large institution like the British Library can work collaboratively with a huge variety of partners to create real change. This autumn the Library hosted The Natural Word, a series of events created to inspire people into climate action with different voices contributing from communities on the front line of the climate emergency. You can catch up on these important conversations online on the British Library Player.

Just recently the Library worked in partnership with Blue Peter to launch the Our Planet Now competition to give a young person the amazing opportunity to share their poem or short story about taking climate action at the COP26 summit.  Their work will become part of this critical moment in history and will also be added to the Library’s collection, capturing a record of these important world events.  

A culture of reuse

Not only are libraries important for sharing information, but they are also safe and vibrant community spaces. Most libraries are built on a model of lending and borrowing, which means that they are already naturally sustainable. The British Library’s copies of fashion magazine Vogue have been accessed more than 6,000 times over the last 10 years alone!

It’s been exciting to learn about how libraries all over the country and the w orld are building on these models to create even deeper cultures of sustainability among their staff and audiences. I discovered a range of inspiring projects, including Libraries of Things, Seed Libraries, and the Wakefield Word Fest, all helping us to take those vital steps towards change.

We are working toward a brighter climate future. Find out more about our plans.

Patrick Hughes is a British artist and creator of the reverse perspective illusionist painting technique. His work includes Paradoxymoron, on public display on the Lower Ground Floor at the British Library St Pancras, London site.

Patrick Hughes © tonyhutchings

If you’ve ever been down to our cloakrooms you will have undoubtedly experienced the unnerving double-take effect of Patrick Hughes’ Paradoxymoron. One of our most popular artworks on public display, it’s a surprising head-turner for children and adults alike. We encourage you see for yourself next time you’re at the Library, or killing time before catching a train from St Pancras. Click here to explore the incredible artworks on display for free in our building.

Paradoxymoron 1996. Oil on board construction. 78 x 138 x 28 cm

We spoke to Patrick about becoming an artist, his ‘reverspective’ work and his links to the British Library.

'I used to work in the Reading Room in the '70s when the British Library was in the British Museum. I have warm feelings about the British Library and impressed that people like Samuel Butler worked there!'

Becoming an artist

Born in Birmingham in 1939, Patrick did not intend to become an artist. His original plan was to become an English teacher, and he spent two years studying English literature at James Graham Day Training College in Leeds.

Click here to listen to Patrick talking about his childhood on British Library Sounds, recorded in 2005 as part of National Life Stories: Artists' Lives.

During his time at College, Patrick became interested in humour and surrealism – his literary passions included the playful German poet, Christian Morgenstern, and the British author, Laurence Sterne. But Patrick was frustrated by being told ‘we don’t do that stuff in English, you should do art, it’s more imaginative.’

Switching to art and led by the interests of his art teachers, Muriel Atkinson and John Jones, Patrick became influenced by the Bauhaus art movement and the artist Paul Klee in particular.

'I was like a child in my work, straightforward and imaginative. I was a geometrical primitive, my style was at once sophisticated and simple.'

He went on to teach at Leeds School of Art before becoming a full-time artist.

Inventing the ‘reverspective’

Patrick with Sticking-out Room, 1964 Mixed media, 91.5 x 106.5 x 28 cm Photo © patrickhughes

Patrick made his first reverse perspective work, Sticking-out Room in 1964. Dubbed ‘reverspectives’, these works are optical illusions with pictures that appear to move as you do. The creative process involves building a 3D shape in wood, painting it white and measuring and sketching the geometric lines before painting with careful attention to shadows and light.

'It’s a sculptured painting using simple geometry with 90° and 45° angles.'

Despite producing his first ‘reverspective’ in the sixties, Patrick didn’t repeat the technique for almost three decades.

Paradoxymoron

Patrick’s work, Paradoxymoron, exhibited at the British Library, was one of his first reverspectives after his 30-year hiatus.

It shows a series of library book stacks that appear to move with your movements. It took Patrick a couple of months to make at home, with a saw and a pot of glue, in his Belsize Park flat.

'It’s an honour to have my work in the British Library. I’m a booky kind of person and bookshelves are good subjects for my work with perspectives.'

Patrick chose the location to hang the work himself. It can be found just outside the cloakroom, an area where visitors are in motion and get to experience the somewhat alarming sensation of the painting following your movements.

Other examples of Patrick’s work

Now aged 81, Patrick is still painting. He employs several assistants in his London-based studio, and for the last 25 years, his ‘reverspective’ works have been exhibited around the world. His A Study of the Studiolo is on permanent display at the British Academy in London. He has also written books on the themes of paradox and oxymorons and has produced thousands of prints.

Patrick at work © patrickhughes

Visit Patrick’s website

Follow Patrick on Instagram

Explore other artworks you can visit for free at the British Library

In our Meet the Maker blog series, we profile the independent creative businesses behind some of our product ranges in the British Library Shop (both online and at our St Pancras, London site). This month, we meet Eleanor Stuart, who designed our new Book Lovers Christmas jumper, baubles, and greeting cards.

Eleanor is an illustrator and designer based in East London, who creates bold, fun and colourful designs with the aim of bringing a smile and a bit of joy to people’s lives.

‘I gather inspiration from a wide range of sources and am always collecting ideas and images from galleries, literature, shops and across the internet. I find I can be inspired by anything from Banksy to a random window display I've seen so I'm always on the lookout for something new. I keep an ongoing book of ideas and products I'd love to create so there's always something keeping me busy!’

The business started back in 2013, with the first collection based on Alice in Wonderland. The British Library Shop was one of Eleanor’s first stockists, with a selection of her plates forming part of an Alice-themed range. Eleanor used the Library’s online collection as inspiration for the range – you can find out more about this in her case study video.

Almost a year ago, we met with Eleanor to talk about bespoke book baubles for our 2021 Christmas range, which expanded into Eleanor adapting some of her Christmas card designs to give them a book-lovers spin, and turning these into gift wrap. We liked the initial designs so much we asked Eleanor if she would design our new Christmas jumper too!

‘It was my first time designing a jumper and I loved it. I was lucky that the British Library team gave me quite an open brief for the design but obviously it had to be festive and book themed!’

After ‘a bit of a light bulb moment’ whilst singing Mariah Carey’s classic All I Want for Christmas Is You, Eleanor gave the song a literary twist and the jumper design was born. Made in the UK from cosy knitted acrylic, we love the Book Lovers’ Christmas jumper, and have been delighted with the really positive feedback and great sales since its launch earlier this month.

‘Being stocked in the British Library shop is particularly special to me because it's one of the first shops I supplied and it made me feel so excited to see my products in a real shop! It's also always meant a lot to me to supply and support such an iconic British institution.’

So what’s next for Eleanor? She has recently moved into a new studio, and, having worked ‘from kitchen tables to windowless self-storage rooms and everything in between’, Eleanor’s delighted to have a beautiful space for her growing business. There’s also the launch of more textiles, mugs and tea towels to look forward to, along with Christmas sacks and stockings. Eleanor would also ‘love to get a dog to bring to the studio if that counts as business planning!’

Eleanor’s advice for anyone starting out with their own business?

‘I would say find a way to just get out there and start doing it, even in a small way. I know when I started it was easy to get bogged down by all the 'what if's' and I realised that I just needed to get my work out there and see what happened and what people thought of it. I started very small doing local craft fairs where people seemed to love my products, then I grew to pop up shops and trade shows and now nearly 10 years on it's a full-time business.’

Browse the British Library Shop’s Eleanor Stuart range

Visit Eleanor’s website

Follow Eleanor on Instagram