S P I N O R A M A

Aslak Gurholt and Fraser Muggeridge

June 16 – July 5, 2025

Opening: Mon. June 16, 18 - 21 hr 
MISS READ off-site event

Tues. + Wed. 11 - 15 hr / Thurs. + Fri. 11 - 18 hr / Sat. 11 - 15 hr

einBuch.haus / Florastr. 61, 13187 Berlin 

Spinorama is the first exhibition dedicated to the book spine, a crucial yet often overlooked element of book design. With over 100 spines on display from various genres, this exhibition highlights the spine’s role as more than just a structural feature. While most books spend their lives on a shelf with only their spines visible, their design and creative potential are rarely explored.

Historically, spines have been undervalued in both design and production, treated as utilitarian spaces for basic information—author, title, and publisher. Designers like Jost Hochuli and Jan Tschichold, however, argued that the spine is a reader's first encounter with the book and carries subtle signals about its content and form.

This exhibition challenges the traditional view of the spine as purely functional. Examples include book series where multiple spines create a single image, or spines that present unexpected information, turning a utilitarian space into a site for creativity. Spinorama invites viewers to see the spine as the backbone not only of the book’s structure but also its narrative and artistic identity.

The exhibition is curated by Aslak Gurholt and Fraser Muggeridge. The project has previously been exhibited at London Centre for Book Arts (5 July–17 August 2024) and Gent Art Book Fair (3 - 4 May 2025). The exhibition was not seen as an end of a project, but the beginning of further investigation of the book spine. Since then new findings and contributions have been added to an expanding spine archive.

Aslak Gurholt

Aslak Gurholt is a graphic designer, artist, author, and curator based in Oslo, Norway. His practice primarily focuses on books and printed matter, exhibitions, and collaborations with cultural institutions. Collecting, referencing, and remixing are important aspects of much of his work.

Fraser Muggeridge

Fraser Muggeridge is a typographic designer based in London.
Throughout a wide range of formats, from artists’ books and exhibition catalogues to posters, marketing material, exhibitions, websites, film titles and music, his work prioritises artists’ and writers’ content over the imposition of a signature style. By allowing images and texts to sustain their own intent and impact, each project is approached with typographic form and letterform playing a key role in arriving at a sympathetic yet subtly alluring object.

Self-Shelf: private (artists’) book collections made public.

S P I N O R A M A is part of the ongoing exhibition series Self-Shelf: private (artists’) book collections made public.
Many people have their own criteria for collecting books—especially artists, curators, and designers from the artist book scene. Self-Shelf is a long-term, irregular but continuous curatorial program that explores private book collections through evolving thematic lenses.
Topics will expand over time and may include books as curated archives, books about books, wooden book covers, creative spines, artworks in newspaper format, blank books, and more. Each theme opens a new way of thinking about books—not just as vessels of knowledge, but as conceptual, material, and artistic objects.
To present these private bookshelves, einBuch.haus creates artistic installations of temporary libraries tailored to each topic. This approach allows for in-depth exploration of individual collections and offers insight into how books function both as carriers of meaning and as artworks within their respective thematic contexts.