A book lover's secret hideaway

IF YOU'RE A serious bibliophile, there's no place on this island that might make you happier right now than NTU CCA's Siah Armajani exhibition titled Spaces For The Public, Spaces For Democracy. Go on a weekday when there's scarcely anyone, sit on the chairs that have been waiting patiently for you, pick up one or more of the carefully curated books placed around the space, and get lost in the contemplative wonderland of poetry, philosophy, art and architecture.

Armajani, 80, is an Iranian-American architect and artist famous for his public works. Throughout his life, he's read voraciously and found much inspiration in various fields. Since 1980, he started creating what he calls "reading rooms" - essentially gazebos with seats and bookshelves - and invited the public to take their places in them for the sole purpose of reading.

The reading rooms are rather unusual in that they are not comfortable by contemporary standards. The seats are hard, a reminder that deep reading requires discipline and sacrifice. The gazebo's open sides allow anyone to see you in it, suggesting that you must apply concentration and not be distracted by the outside world.

But try taking a seat in one of them, and you're quickly find yourself lulled into the solemnity of the setting.

The collection of provided books, meanwhile, is a bibliophile's wet dream. There are complete poetry collections of Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and Federico Garcia Lorca. There are philosophy books by Jacques Derrida, Martin Heidegger and Hannah Arendt. There are books on Persian art, poetry and short stories in honour of Armajani's heritage. There is not one but two poetry collections by Frank O'Hara - a terrific but underappreciated American writer.

The two reading rooms that Armajani's brought to NTU CCA are called Sacco And Vanzetti Reading Rooms, named after Italian-American anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti who were convicted of murder in 1921. The judiciary back then were suspected of prejudice against Italians and immigrants. And when subsequent investigations hinted at their innocence, several protests broke out across North America and Europe and even in Tokyo, Sydney and Rio de Janeiro, calling for their release. Unfortunately the verdict was upheld and the men were electrocuted in 1927.

Armajani dedicates these reading rooms in their memory, just as he's dedicated different art and architectural works over the course of his 60-year practice to various poets, philosophers and political activists whose courage and ideas have suffused his creations, from bridges and gardens, to sculptures and sketches.

For you, dear bibliophile, he offers this large and beautiful space that beckons you to stay and read. There are hundreds of well-sharpened pencils slotted in trays should you need to jot down notes. And even the lighting is brighter than that of most exhibitions, calibrated to keep you submerged in words and ideas.

Siah Armajani's Spaces For The Public, Spaces For Democracy runs at the NTU Centre For Contemporary Art in Gillman Barracks from now till Nov 3, 2019. Admission is free.