Shubigi Rao's 'Pulp II' Explores Book Destruction and Resistance Through Personal Narratives

Shubigi Rao's publication 'Pulp II: A Visual Bibliography of the Banished Book' represents the second volume in a five-part, decade-long project that also includes artworks and films. The book delves into the history of library and book destruction, shifting from the personal family library focus of the first volume to interviews with librarians, publishers, and artists from locations like Antwerp and Delhi. Rao examines the book as a site for resistance and activism, citing examples such as bootleg versions of 'The Satanic Verses' from 1988 and banned books inserted into library collections, while also considering it as a physical object affected by digitization. The work connects to broader themes like the #MeToo movement, economic inequality, and global populist politics, using personal stories to explore cultural cleansing during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Rao's approach includes handwritten side notes, scribbled deletions, and drawings, emphasizing graffiti, excision, and marginalia as both oppressive acts and knowledge accumulation. She traces dynamics of ownership, censorship, and rebellion from family libraries to national collections, aiming to highlight large-scale effects of wars and cultural purity politics through subjective experience. Published in the Summer 2019 issue of ArtReview Asia, the softcover book is priced at SGD 50 and is part of Rao's role as curator of the next Kochi-Muziris Biennale scheduled for 2020.