Shubigi Rao - Manifesting The Power Of Her Rage Through Her Art

She's the first female artist to represent Singapore in a solo show at the Venice Biennale. Shubigi Rao takes stock of Pulp, an ambitious 10-year project.

- Karishma Tulsidas

Artist and writer Shubigi Rao is angry at the state of the world. But there's no aggression, nor does she use expletives to express her anger. Instead, Shubigi - who is the first female artist to represent Singapore in a solo show at the Venice Biennale - manifests the power of her rage through her art.

"Anger comes out through my work, especially when it's intellectual, film or creative work creativity is an expression that comes from a place of motivation. My motivation is anger at injustice. It's something I can't stomach," says Shubigi. Indeed, the 47-year-old has found an outlet in Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, a five-volume film, book and visual project that's slated to - take her 10 years to complete. Shubigi is only halfway through, even though technically she’s at the seven-and-a-half-year mark – she “lost” two years, she says, because of the pandemic.

The first volume, presented in a book format, was released in January 2016. Pulp essentially tackles literary works that have been destroyed for diverse reasons – including war and censorship – via books, artworks and videos. It’s also the result of her love for books and their significance as a symbol of resistance against repression.

“For me, the way I dealt with different forms of oppression, harassment, abuse as a child was to be creative. That was my main survival method. Instead of despairing at the state of the world, I write or make more. Anger is not an emotion that remains unchanged when you go through a creative process. It mutates, it motivates the process, and like any motion, it infuses your writing,” she shares.