Intensification of Contrast by Andrey Syaylev, Samara, Russia
Books
for bricks
Andrey Syaylev · Intensification of Contrast, 2013 · Samara Public Library
Photo: artist’s archive (Andrey Syaylev), 1 June 2013
On a Saturday evening in June 2013, Andrey Syaylev cemented books into the crumbling base of a pier beside the door of the Samara Public Library, laid like bricks with lines of mortar. By Monday morning they had been taken out, just as he had planned.
4 things to know
- Blamed on the librariansSyaylev offered a reading of his own: maybe the plaster had fallen off and the column, “а может быть, и весь дом” (and maybe the whole house), turned out to be made of books. At first, he said, 70 percent of the comments ran along the lines of “Ну ничего себе библиотекари очумели!” (Wow, the librarians have gone crazy!). Volga News
- The hole was the pointHe expected the books to be taken out at once, he told Volga News, leaving an offer that could not be refused: “Не дырку же оставлять!” (They could hardly just leave a hole!). His website counts the facade’s later restoration as part of the work. We found no official who links the two. Volga News · Syaylev.com
- Not BanksyOn 6 November 2014 a Twitter account called @thereaIbanksy, with a capital I in place of the l, posted the photo to about a million followers. It was a lookalike, not Banksy, but the story stuck: later Samara articles say Banksy himself shared the work. Drugoi Gorod · SGPress
- Books used as bricksHis website calls the piece an inversion of his sculpture Complete set of works (2013), bricks hand-engraved as book spines. Here the books themselves are the bricks. In 2015 Volga News wrote that, thanks to it, even people far from art got to know his work. Syaylev.com · Volga News
Where it was
- 📍
- Ulitsa Kuybysheva 95, Samara. The books filled the base of the pier just right of the carved wooden entrance door, at pavement level. The map pin marks the building, not the pier.
- 🧱
- Gone: nothing of the work is left. The pier is brick again; in a photo taken on 22 July 2024 a pink planter stands at its foot (Wikimedia Commons).
- 📚
- The library is still open, on the second and third floors (SGPress, 21 September 2026).
- 💡
- In 2025 the library ordered design documents for lighting the building’s facades (library report for 2025).
Sightings
- 20131 Jun
Photo taken (artist)
- 20133 Jun
Books removed
- 20146 Nov
Lookalike ‘Banksy’ post
- 201514 Sep
Photo taken: pier rebuilt
- 20166 Jun
Library reopens
- 202422 Jul
Photo taken (Commons)
- 202621 Sep
Library still in use
Every stamp links to the dated source.
On the record
Некоторые итоги культурного года-2013
“Художник-Которого-Нельзя-Называть (хотя все уже написали, что это Андрей Сяйлев) заделал брешь на входе в Публичную библиотеку на улице Куйбышева… книгами.”
“The Artist-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (though everyone has already written that it’s Andrey Syaylev) filled the breach at the entrance of the Public Library on Kuybysheva Street… with books.” Volga News’s review of 2013.
Художник Андрей Сяйлев: «История с библиотекой — это предложение, от которого невозможно отказаться»
“Пару дней. Был вечер субботы, а в понедельник с утра уже убрали. Я так и планировал.”
“A couple of days. It was Saturday evening, and by Monday morning they had already removed it. That’s what I planned.” Andrey Syaylev, asked how long the work stood.
Подборка работ самарского художника Андрея Сяйлева
“И не беда, что Бэнкси has never used Twitter, публикация стрит-арта Андрея Сяйлева в твиттере с миллионом подписчиков — это отличный повод…”
“Never mind that Banksy has never used Twitter: a post of Andrey Syaylev’s street art on a Twitter account with a million followers is a great excuse…” Drugoi Gorod, on the @thereaIbanksy post.
Художник Андрей Сяйлев рассказал о современном искусстве в Самаре и его отличиях от вандализма
“Этот жест, эта интервенция должна была породить цепочку событий. И я не скорблю по утрате, что эта работа быстро исчезла.”
“This gesture, this intervention, was meant to set off a chain of events. And I don’t mourn the loss, that this work disappeared quickly.” Andrey Syaylev to Egor Zlygostev.
Андрей Сяйлев: «Художник — профессия общественная»
“Писали: «О! Как креативно! Штукатурка облетела — книги оголились». Было много и хейтеров. Хотели даже завести дело.”
“People wrote: ‘Oh, how creative! The plaster came off and the books were exposed.’ There were plenty of haters too. Some even wanted to open a case.” Andrey Syaylev to Maria Moskvicheva.
The facts
- Artist
- Andrey Syaylev (Андрей Сяйлев), born 1982 near Tashkent and raised in Samara (Aroundart, 2015); based in Moscow since 2017 (Wikipedia), with a studio in Samara (The Art Newspaper Russia, 2026) Checked
- Title
- Усиление контраста (Intensification of Contrast). Left unsigned Checked
- Made
- A Saturday evening, in the artist’s words; his photos carry the camera date 1 June 2013, 20:12, which was a Saturday. Drugoi Gorod’s review of 2013 files it under May Checked
- Removed
- Monday morning (3 June 2013, counting from the Saturday camera date), and soon replaced with bricks. No source says who removed the books Checked
- Place
- The base of the pier right beside the entrance door of the Samara Public Library, ul. Kuybysheva 95. Syaylev calls it a column, AiF a half-column Checked
- Medium
- Books set in cement like bricks, with lines of mortar. No measurements published Checked
- Building
- Built 1872 according to the heritage register (via Wikipedia) and SGPress; Drugoi Gorod gives 1860. A federal heritage site. The library held the second floor in 1882–1896 (Lenin read here in 1889–1893) and came back in 1970 Checked
- Restoration
- Began 2014 and took two years; 24 million rubles from the budget (the sources don’t say which), with the restoration firm Reanta, according to Drugoi Gorod. The city announced the reopening on 6 June 2016 (ProGorod) Reported
- ‘Banksy’ post
- A lookalike account, @thereaIbanksy, on 6 November 2014 (Drugoi Gorod); Banksy himself, say Volga News (2020), SGPress (2020) and AiF (2021) Conflicting
- Status
- Gone since 3 June 2013. Camera dates show the pier rebuilt in brick by 14 September 2015 and still intact on 22 July 2024 Checked
Help us finish this file
- Who removed the books on the morning of 3 June 2013 and bricked up the gap: library staff, the city or the building’s managers?
- Who wanted to “open a case” over the work, as Syaylev recalled in 2026 (The Art Newspaper Russia), and did anything come of it?
- The exact text of the @thereaIbanksy post of 6 November 2014.
- Which budget, city or regional, paid the 24 million rubles, and in which month of 2014 the restoration began.
- A dated photo of the pier between June 2013 and the restoration, with the bricks that replaced the books.
Know one of these, or have a dated photo? Leave a comment below.
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: Better Broken (10 Photos) (2026), where the photo above appeared.
- The artist’s own page for the work, with five photos taken that evening: “Intensification of contrast” (in Russian: “Усиление контраста”).
- A same-day selection of his other works, including the engraved brick sculpture Полное собрание сочинений (2013). Drugoi Gorod
- Общее решение (Common Decision, 2021): a fence at the Samara GRES power station painted in 20 colour stripes, each as wide as its share of an online public vote. Syaylev says it followed the same basic scenario as the library piece. The Art Newspaper Russia
All sources (25)
Samara press
- Volga News: “Некоторые итоги культурного года-2013”, 26 December 2013. The year in culture: the viral photo, the unnamed artist, the books replaced with bricks. In Russian.
- Drugoi Gorod: “Главная прелесть и жесть уходящего года в 31 фотографии”, 28 December 2013. Samara’s year in 31 photos; files the work under May. In Russian.
- Volga News: “Художник Андрей Сяйлев: «История с библиотекой — это предложение, от которого невозможно отказаться»”, 16 May 2014. Interview by Ksenia Aitova: how long it stood, the comments, the hole. In Russian.
- Drugoi Gorod: “Подборка работ самарского художника Андрея Сяйлева”, 6 November 2014. By Evgeny Nektarkin. The @thereaIbanksy post, with a screenshot. In Russian.
- Volga News: “В Самаре появились два новых стрит-арт-объекта Андрея Сяйлева”, 13 May 2015. The title, the year, the library entrance. In Russian.
- 63.ru: “Самарская публичная библиотека на Куйбышева открывается после реставрации”, 3 June 2016. Reopening on 6 June; federal heritage status. In Russian.
- Drugoi Gorod: “Как выглядит Самарская публичная библиотека после реставрации”, 6 June 2016. By Evgeny Nektarkin. Cost, contractor, the building’s history. In Russian.
- ProGorod Samara: “После реставрации открылась Самарская публичная библиотека”, 6 June 2016. Relays the city administration’s announcement. In Russian.
- Samaratoday: “После реставрации открылась Самарская публичная библиотека”, 7 June 2016. Facade and interiors restored; cites the city’s press office. In Russian.
- Volga News: “Самарский художник Андрей Сяйлев рассказал, как его лечат от коронавируса в Москве”, 30 March 2020. Says Banksy posted the photo. In Russian.
- SGPress: “Андрей Сяйлев — самарский художник, чьи работы репостил Бенкси”, 5 April 2020. By Ilya Suldin. The base of the column; repeats the Banksy claim. In Russian.
- AiF Samara: “Граффити как оружие. С кем воюют неизвестные художники?”, 24 April 2021. The half-column at the entrance; repeats the Banksy claim. In Russian.
- Komsomolskaya Pravda – Samara: “Художник Андрей Сяйлев рассказал о современном искусстве в Самаре и его отличиях от вандализма”, 22 November 2021. Interview by Egor Zlygostev. In Russian.
- SGPress: “Гостиница, банк и публичная библиотека: что смотреть на улице Куйбышева. Часть 2”, 21 September 2026. By Ksenia Yastrebova, photos by Vladimir Permyakov. The building today. In Russian.
Art press
- Aroundart: “Портрет художника в юности: Андрей Сяйлев”, 9 July 2015. Interview by Konstantin Zatsepin: birthplace, anonymity. In Russian.
- ART Узел: “Андрей Сяйлев: «Я не считаю себя „самарским художником“…»”, 15 March 2017. Interview by Sergey Viktorov; photos supplied by the artist. In Russian.
- The Art Newspaper Russia: “Андрей Сяйлев: «Художник — профессия общественная»”, 18 June 2026. Interview by Maria Moskvicheva; photo credited to the artist’s archive. In Russian.
The artist
- syaylev.com: “Intensification of contrast”, work page: books and cement, 2013; five photos with the camera date 1 June 2013. In English.
- ru.syaylev.com: “Усиление контраста”, the same page in Russian.
Records and reference
- Wikipedia: “Здание Самарской публичной библиотеки”, federal heritage status, restoration 2014–2016, coordinates. In Russian.
- Wikipedia: “Сяйлев, Андрей Фёдорович”, list of works; birthplace. In Russian.
- Wikidata: “Здание Самарской публичной библиотеки” (Q138491817), heritage register number and building coordinates.
- Samara Public Library: report for 2025, published June 2026 (PDF). Facade-lighting design contract; no repair works in 2025. In Russian.
Photos of the building
- Wikimedia Commons: “Samara Kuybysheva 95”, Vadimgimov, camera date 14 September 2015. Facade restored, pier rebuilt.
- Wikimedia Commons: “Самара, улица Куйбышева, 95 (2)”, AndyVolykhov, camera date 22 July 2024. The pier beside the door, intact.
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