Who Am I? Versions I & II | 私は誰ですか I & II

Who Am I? Version I – An art installation and performance in collaboration withTan Kai Syng and Heng Whoo Kiat
August 2004, Tokyo

Who Am I? Version II – An art installation in collboration with Heng Whoo Kiat, supported by Ant
October 2004, Singapore

photo of Who Am I? Version I installation

installation live recording >>

“I am a hybrid of many experiences and chance encounters, born of a moment, build up of many moments…”

Through the sensorial puzzle of discovering ‘Who’ the artist is through sight, sound and smell, the participant is coaxed into discovering who he is… The installation of three beanbags suspended at different heights, is differentiated by the single “sense” each contains. The participant’s encounter with each beanbag is a personal one- by inserting his head into each beanbag whilst standing, sitting or kneeling, the acquaintance with the artist and himself becomes a very intimate experience.

The Grassland in the Teahouse | 茶室の草原

An installation-cum-interactive performance space
Jan 2006, Tokyo

drawings and photos of performance space

A Japanese-Mongolian experiential cultural cross between sight, sound, space and a mystical legend.

“If the Sea can fit into a small Seashell, then certainly, the Steppes can fit into a Teahouse. For it has been said, the humble Teahouse can contain the entire universe”

Grimaces/ Insulation/ Degrees of De Compositions

A scenography for Tan Kai Syng’s solo LIVE video art performance with sound artists Charles Christophe and Carl Stone
August 2004, Tokyo

conceptual sketch of scenography

This event was held in a gallery in Kanda, Tokyo

It is Tan Kai Syng’s Island-hopping series (Fall 2004 version) – comprising a full-day exhibition and a one-night live performance with electronic musicians Carl Stone and Christophe Charles.

Confronted with a small but unique gallery space boasting of one full-glass facade, the concept was to expand spatial perception by using the reflective nature of the glass while playing with the physical idea of ‘Island-hopping’. The notion of Inside and Outside were deliberately blurred to encourage appreciation of the unique qualities of the site.

PhraZes | フレーズ

A performance in collaboration with Emma Lewis
July 2004, Tokyo

photos of performance

This performance demonstrates the breakdown of communication between three dancers. The collage of whispered phrases in multi-languages encoded in unrecognised meaning aired at the beginning of the performance results in frustration and struggle. As the dance progresses the incoherent jumble of languages eventually becomes one common tongue. Relieved, the dancers were finally able to physically exchange “Chat Bubbles” to each other through this shared language and have a proper dialogue.

 

 

REBOUND I & II| リバウンド I & II

An interactive performance and installation in collaboration with Emma Lewis
July 2004, Tokyo

conceptual sketches and photos of Rebound I performance

Rebound I performance video | リバウンド Iの演出のヴィデオ

photos of Rebound 2 performance

Rebound I is a dance performance appreciation beyond sight. This is an experiment on a sighted audience; shifting the conventions of performance appreciation from sight to hearing. Two dancers, separated in space, adorn a black and white bodysuit of sensors triggered by the movement of specific body parts. ( head, torso, arm and leg )

 

PITCHBLACK | ピッチ・ブラック

An interactive installation in collaboration with Koyanagi Junji
June 2004, Tokyo

conceptual sketches and photos of Rebound I performance

installation live recording >>

Sounding out invisible territories. Inspired by the bat’s use of echolocation to sense its surroundings, the participant to this installation is challenged to be both emitter and recipient of feedback coming from struck piano chords suspended in space when hit by a sounding pendulum, the medium. Based on his own sense of hearing, the participant is asked to mentally chart out the positions of the piano chords like vectors in space.

Kan観

A scenography and performance in collaboration with Lee Jian Long
Feb 2004 , Tokyo

photos of performance

This event was held in a basement exhibition space in Kodaira, Tokyo .

It is an installation that becomes performance space over five days with invited artists asked to give their own interpretations of ‘body in space’.

Mnemonic- A Thousand Cranes

A scenography and cat-walk choreography for a fashion show by Gim Tok Choo
September 2003, Tokyo

sketches and photo of scenography

This event was held in a garage-turn-gallery space in Shibuya, Tokyo.

In imitation of the fashion designer’s textile weaving techniques and achievement of light nuances through subtle fabric shifts of black, a catwalk inscribed in light was conceived.

Optimising the ‘biais’ of the space, the flow sequence for the models is likened to the diagonal weaving of the fabric. The audience’s eye shifts from spartan silhouettes to crisp detail and back to shadow again in a crescending and decrescending play of light.

The cold solemn aura of silently-advancing ‘faceless’ models moving in surgical precision is enhanced by the atmospheric electronic music of Charles Christophe. A live video projection of the fashion show on the outside of the performance ‘box’ engages the passer-by from the street.

X-Culture Phase I & II

Phase I: An interactive live-streaming performance in collaboration with vocalist Tomoe
2005, Tokyo and Seoul
Phase II: A live sound art painting performance-cum-installation with vocalist Tomoe
2005, Super Deluxe, Tokyo

photo of performance

Phase I video recording of live streaming to Seoul

Phase II video recording

[X-Culture] is an exploration of the states of mind of migratory peoples, motivated by varying circumstances to leave their homeland and seek ‘greener pastures’ in foreign lands. The psychological impact of uprooting oneself from a place and resettling somewhere else having to adapt and assimilate old and new cultures; is a recurrent question on identity.