In Venice, minimalist Singapore show speaks volumes

WITH over 80 countries vying for the attention of 600,000 international visitors in Venice, the Singapore Pavilion is surprisingly quiet. It's conceived as an isle of calm in a sea of brightness and bluster, a respite from the madding crowd.

You step into a life-size maze made out of paper, only to realise you've entered the architecture of a book. As you follow the path going deeper into the maze, you encounter a film that tells the story of books - how they're published, how they're banned, and how they're sometimes preserved against all political, social and economic odds.

Further into the maze, there is a small structure made out of books. You're invited to take a free copy of Pulp III: An Intimate Inventory Of The Banished Book (2022), and sit on one of benches to browse the 400-page tome, which recounts the history of Singapore and Venice as once-formidable printing hubs, and other stories about publishing.