Positive/ Negative Space Artist: Rachel Whiteread

This is an interesting take on positive and negative space. One would expect to see a bookcase displayed with empty spaces left for the books themselves. Whiteread flips this expectation around, providing only the books. However, she goes further in her color choice to emphasize the lack of what should be positive space. The books appear as the new positive space and are solid in this role because of their dark color. The while wall brings forth even more of a sense of void where there is no bookcase. Finally, the combination of black and white, and the shadow created around where the books meet the wall almost mimics a bookcase or at least draws the viewer's attention to where one should be.