As a child, Shubigi Rao saw how her beloved family library was burned down by thieves, in their anger over the family not having anything valuable to steal. She lived in the Himalayas, where there were hardly any libraries. But through her parents' book collection, she understood early on the value of books.
They contain so many people's voices. If you read a lot and expose yourself to that diversity, which is humanity's real wealth, you never grow up with the belief in a single idea, an ideology, says Shubigi Rao.
Over the past ten years, she has worked on an art project about attacks on libraries and the erasure of women's voices. The largest presentation of the project to date is now taking over Bildmuseet in Umeå.
First Targets
In books, films, drawings, and photographs, Shubigi Rao shows how authors have been imprisoned, minority languages have been eradicated, and libraries have been burned down – including the National Library in Sarajevo, where two million books were destroyed. She wanted to understand humanity's violent side, and the opposite creative drive.
We have created fantastic music, art, and poetry – but are simultaneously so violent. As soon as a war breaks out, or a conflict between civilizations, libraries, universities, artists, and academics are always the first targets.
Shubigi Rao is driven by a deep faith in the significance of the free word. In her childhood in the Himalayas, she saw Tibetan refugees after the Chinese invasion.
They had only brought two things: their children and their manuscripts. So I understood early on that if a people are to survive, they must clearly save their children, but also their culture, language, and story.
Funding Cut
Now, censorship is increasing worldwide, and according to Shubigi Rao, it goes hand in hand with growing populism and the silencing of women's voices. In the USA, for example, it is mainly women's books that are being banned at an increasing rate.
But censorship also takes other forms – the truth is deliberately drowned in lies and disinformation on the internet. At the same time, funding is being cut for the humanities, publishing houses, libraries, and journalism, emphasizes Shubigi Rao. The ecosystem that teaches people to think critically is being undermined.
One of the major threats to libraries now is not that they are being burned, but that they are losing their funding.
What fascinates Shubigi Rao is simultaneously the eternal, persistent resistance.
You always find people who, at great risk to themselves, find ways to print and spread banned books. Even when the punishment is death.
Elin Swedenmark/TT
Facts: Shubigi Rao's Path to Resistance
TTTT
1: The first rule of resistance is – do not obey in advance. Much of the censorship done by governments is illegal. States cannot simply censor people. But many politicians know that people often do not strike back, but instead practice self-censorship.
2: Remember that you are not alone. Find a group of people who understand what it means to fight for the right to read, publish, and print words. Pen does incredible work all over the world. Contact your local Pen branch.
3: When we read the news, it is overwhelming. But despair is our true enemy. If everyone did one small action per day, the cumulative effect would be enormous. If your school tries to ban books – talk to the board. Vote out those who do not want to fund your libraries. Exercise your civil rights.
The exhibition "Pulp I–IV" is produced by Bildmuseet in Umeå and will be shown from March 14.
Shubigi Rao is an artist and writer born in India but based in Singapore. In 2022, she represented Singapore at the Venice Biennale and has been awarded the Singapore Literature Prize for creative non-fiction, for her book series "Pulp". She has also made the films "Talking leaves" and "These petrified paths".
In her art, she has also collaborated with, among others, Pen.
