In Ray Bradbury‘s Fahrenheit 451, books are banned–not only banned, but burned by firemen under a totalitarian government that controls the public’s access to any documentations of the old ways of life. That lack of access to reading materials is a haunting reality in Bradbury’s world, and now one organization in France is having fun with the ideas presented in the book. Via Open Culture, Super Terrain, a nonprofit graphic design studio, has created a version of Fahrenheit 451 that can only be read when heat is applied directly to the pages.
In videos released by those who have seen the special edition, we see a collection of blackened pages. As a lighter is dragged up and down over the paper, the book’s text is exposed. The experimental project is currently available for pre-order on Super Terrain’s wesbite for retail price of 395 euros–or $451. “This new edition is an artist’s book in which the very object of the book echoes the fiction it contains,” the site’s manifesto explains, noting that when the fire is away, the book looks like it’s already been the “victim of the assault of firefighters.” But with the application of a flame, it comes to life.
It may not be the most convenient way to revisit the harrowing future world of Fahrenheit 451, but it’s certainly the most creative. “It was a pleasure to burn,” indeed.
Images: Super Terrain
