Bookworms, rejoice – literary arts festival Textures returns to champion Singapore literature (Sing Lit) and its diverse community from March 26 to April 25. Unlike its predecessors, this year's edition takes on the form of a mobile installation and travelling library, with the theme The Bottled City.
The installation kicks off at The Arts House before moving into the heartlands including Jurong, Yishun and Toa Payoh. Fix your eyes on the books, miniatures, papercut sculptures, terrariums and cross-stitch of the eye-catching display, and learn more about the scenes and landscapes that colour the vibrant Sing Lit scene.
This year's edition is helmed by the first guest Artistic Director of Textures, poet and artist Jason Wee, who's curated a brilliant selection of SingLit books for the roving library. You'll find titles from local authors the likes of Cyril Wong, Balli Kaur Jaswal, Suffian Hakim, Troy Chin and Akshita Nanda.
"The past year gave us the language of quarantine, sheltering and social distances, which develops a sense of smallness and interiority, as our lives and worlds take place within a protective bubble," says Jason, "I’d like to take this smallness as an opportunity nonetheless for curiosity and exploration, to grow our fascination about others and our island, and our senses for pleasure and surprise.’’
The library features three distinct terrarium scenes depicting the personal journeys of protagonists, inspired by two graphic novels and a poetry collection. One of the terrarium scenes is inspired by Weng Pixin's Sweet Time, where Mossaique imagines the female protagonist sitting on a cliff after an argument with her beloved, looking to the horizon and seeing an uncertain future. Another scene is a tribute to late Singapore artist Lee Wen, in which he was rowing along a stream in a yellow kayak into the unknown.
The installation will be at The Arts House from March 26 to 28; SAFRA Jurong from March 30 to April 4; Yishun Ave 3 (between Blocks 765 & 766) from April 6 to 11; and SAFRA Toa Payoh from April 13 to 18. For more info, visit theartshouse.sg.