Latvia is a nation of introverted writers. It is not clear whether Latvians like to write because they are introverts or they have become introverts because of writing so much. Recently, Latvia celebrated this introversion with the #iamintrovert campaign designed for the 2018 London Book Fair. The main characters of the campaign were two fictional Latvian writers "I." and "I."These two are aware that they do not belong in this extrovert-friendly world where writers are often expected to be performers and advertisers selling their work.“I. is different. He can get confused when kissed on both cheeks or when talked to on a bus. If someone compliments I., he will turn red-white-red. I. and I. allow their books to speak for them. Literature is the perfect world for introverts,” as written in the #iamintrovert campaign manifesto.

The response to the campaign was so great that I. and I. simply had to visit the London Design Biennale to meet the public in person for the first time. This will, of course, not be a traditional meet-and-greet. It will be both very intimate and distant. When meeting one of the I.s, you will get a chance to share a secret. It could be anything — your greatest fears and hopes or simple, silly and mundane things.

The introverted writers sitting in their creative cell will turn your secret into a short literary piece or provide some other response. We’ll see how it resonates. You’ll receive the answer through a drawer. This experience might encourage you to tell your secret to the whole world. Or at least to someone who needs to hear it.

The I. and I. creative cell is a new interpretation of an existing historical object of Latvia’s cultural heritage — Dainu Skapis (Cabinet of Folk Songs). It is a rather introverted object which holds valuable information about Latvians and the importance of poetry in the everyday life of Latvian people over the centuries. The new cabinet will hide various treasures of Latvian contemporary literature. The project is intended to be a performative living monument to the writers and literature of Latvia today.