Shubigi Rao: Pulp III—A Short Biography of the Banished Book

Every character in every tale is displaced, a mis-shelved book, a mistranslated text. We are, like the characters we read, restless bodies obsessed with our misapprehensions and mistaken identities, elliptical and misaligned, spinning on axes of our own grinding. We lurk in our murk, we are miasma. —Shubigi Rao, Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, Singapore: Rock Paper Fire, 2016

The Singapore Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale, Pulp III: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, curated by Ute Meta Bauer, marks the midpoint of artist and writer Shubigi Rao’s ongoing decade-long Pulp project. Central to the exhibition is the third volume of the book series, Pulp III: An Intimate Inventory of the Banished Book, and a new multivocal film, Talking Leaves made by Rao for the Pavilion. Both the book and the film chronicle stories that speak of the vital history of print and open access through the artist’s long-term artistic research process. 

The exhibition in Venice extends online on the website, where an e-version of the book Pulp Vol. III functions as a strategy and a tool against hegemonic conventions of information flow. Being a Brief Guide to the Banished Book (2017), a drawing of a phylogenetic tree by Shubigi Rao, offers an intimate reading of the underlying themes explored in her work. By delving deeper into the tree, one can discover a selection of text excerpts and drawings from the first three volumes of her Pulp book series. It is a part of her eponymous decade-long inquiry about and documentation of human aspiration, desire and yearning, eradication and violence, error and failure, that encapsulate the best and worst of humankind. The site also features stills from Talking Leaves that, by way of personal confidences and poetic reflections, documentary and mytho-poetics, explores the tales of those at the frontlines of saving books and libraries. The website includes images of the Pavilion’s spatial design by architect Laura Miotto that takes the form of a paper maze.

Ute Meta Bauer explains, “Shubigi Rao employs the book and the moving image as formats of communication which tend to the parts in the story that have often been deliberately obscured by those in power and by the expenses of capital. Her research as an artist is deeply interested in the ‘keepers’ of culture, of histories, of herstories, of identity, wherein language becomes a home and a place of retreat to protect and yet lament that which is lost.”

Commissioned by the National Arts Council, Singapore (NAC), the Singapore Pavilion, occupying 250sqm within the Sale d’Armi complex at the Arsenale, marks its 10th participation at the Venice Biennale. It is also reported as one of the top-rated Pavilions to visit since its official opening on 21 April 2022. 

Rosa Daniel, Chief Executive of NAC, states that “Over the years, NAC has strongly supported Shubigi in her practice, and her participation in the Singapore Pavilion with highly respected curator Ute Meta Bauer is a significant milestone in her artistic journey. We believe that Singapore’s participation will contribute to raising its profile as an emerging centre in Asia for artistic collaboration, production and research.”

Edwin Tong, Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) adds, “Art has the power to uplift and inspire us. Singapore’s milestone participation at the Venice Biennale demonstrates to the world the diversity and range of talents in our visual arts landscape, and what our arts practitioners are capable of. MCCY will continue to work closely with our arts community to support their endeavours to fly our flag high around the world. We welcome everyone to celebrate, connect, and reflect through Shubigi’s showcase.”

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Tate Anzur
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National Arts Council
Faith Leong, Manager, Communications & Marketing: Faith_LEONG@nac.gov.sg