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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Programmes
Programme
A non-persistent, time-based occurrence. Examples include symposia and conferences, public talks and performances, tours, workshops, open studios.
Short Description
Do not miss this special opportunity to meet our Artists-in-Residence<span> </span><a href="https://ntu.ccasingapore.org/residency/yanyun-chen/"><strong>Yanyun Chen</strong></a>,<span> </span><a href="https://ntu.ccasingapore.org/residency/ben-loong/"><strong>Ben Loong</strong></a>, and<span> </span><a href="https://ntu.ccasingapore.org/residency/zulkhairi-zulkiflee/"><strong>Zulkhairi Zulkiflee</strong></a>, and gain an insight into the research projects they have been developing over the past five months. A range of sketches, research materials, prototypes, experimental installations as well as the artists themselves await you!
Programme Type
Festival
Audience
General
Programme Series
OPEN Studios
Location
Onsite (CCA)
Offsite
Online
Onsite (CCA)
Collaboration
No
Commissioned Work
No
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Residencies OPEN
Subject
The topic of the resource
Artistic Research
Botany
Displacement
Materiality
Decolonialism
Description
An account of the resource
<span><span>Residencies OPEN offers the chance to experience diverse contemporary art practices and the heterogenous ways in which artists conceive an artwork with the studio as a springboard for experimentation and innovation.<br /></span></span>
<p><strong>Residencies OPEN</strong><span> </span>offers a rare insight into the artists’ creative process making their studios accessible to the public. Through research displays and presentations of works-in-progress, Residencies OPEN showcases the diversity of contemporary art practices and the multiplicity of ways in which artists develop their work with the studio as a springboard for experimentation and research.</p>
<p>Do not miss this special opportunity to meet our Artists-in-Residence<span> </span><strong>Yanyun Chen</strong>,<span> </span><strong>Ben Loong</strong>, and<span> </span><strong>Zulkhairi Zulkiflee</strong>, and gain an insight into the research projects they have been developing over the past five months. A range of sketches, research materials, prototypes, experimental installations as well as the artists themselves await you!<br /><br /><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>YANYUN CHEN</strong></span></p>
<p>Saturday, 12 August – Sunday, 13 August 2023<br />2:00 – 7:00 pm<br />Block 38 Malan Road, #01-07<br /><br />Capturing two lines of artistic inquiry that have been unfolding in parallel during her residency, this presentation features the main strands of Yanyun Chen’s practice: the pictorial experiments with botanical forms and her engagement with the intergenerational transmission of pain, shame, and trauma inspired by her own family’s stories. In the past months, the artist has been working on her largest drawings to date. Made with charcoal on aluminium, the two drawings are at different stages of development. Both feature complex floral arrangements devoid of colour and the painstakingly realistic rendition of these botanical forms is complicated by the introduction of unnatural distortions, almost akin to digital glitches, that instill a sense of movement into the tradition of still-life painting. <br /><br />The other research thread explores techniques of physical discipline employed in the family context, their long-lasting effects on individuals as well as the tools of their enforcement. Visitors are invited to browse a variety of research materials, from articles and books addressing physical punishment to surveys conducted by the Singapore’s Children Society and findings drawn from personal conversations with relatives and friends. Alongside the text-based materials are the artist’s manipulations of the instruments of domestic discipline themselves, specifically rattan canes and feather dusters. Breaking down the fibers of rattan canes, Yanyun is experimenting with the act of weaving to explore both the materials and the craftsmanship objects of discipline are made of. They are accompanied by a video work the artist is developing in collaboration with animator Dave Lim. Inspired by the notion of imprinting in relation to both film-making processes (the latent image) and the consequences of caning on a person’s mind and body, the video is composed by a series of flickering closeups that animate the texture of cane.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>BEN LOONG</strong></span></p>
<p>Saturday, 12 August – Sunday, 13 August 2023<br />2:00 – 7:00pm<br />Blk 37 Malan Road, #01-02</p>
<p>Bringing together a long-standing interest in the materiality of urban structures, the conceptual frictions between fine arts and craftsmanship, and his professional ceramic practice, Ben Loong has spent his residency looking at the history of brick production in Singapore. Now a defunct trade, the art of masonry used to be a burgeoning industry during the colonial era. Reflecting upon the different forms of labour involved in the material production and usages of bricks, the presentation for Residencies OPEN includes the artist’s current explorations around these subjects and two previous works, EB and SB (both 2018), made of resinated gypsum plaster on wood, which were also inspired by brick bond patterns.<br /><br />The multiplicity of brick structures and laying patterns is at the core of the artist’s research. Over the past months, a collection was formed made of bricks found in different parts of Singapore—from sidewalks and construction sites to the forested area around the studio. The bricks are displayed to illustrate a wide variety of structural morphologies. Alongside the found objects are the artist’s own sketches and prototypes: a series of watercolours realised with powder obtained by grinding bricks; experimentations with brick ‘seals’ and Chinese ink on paper; and an industrial brick that was subjected to firing and glazing. Also available is an interactive map of still-existing brick buildings in Singapore which visitors are invited to explore and contribute to.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>ZULKHAIRI ZULKIFLEE</strong></span><br /><br /><span>Saturday, 12 August – Sunday, 13 August 2023</span><br /><span>2:00 – 7:00 pm</span><br /><span>Block 37 Malan Road, #01-03</span><br /><span> </span><br /><span>In the past five months of his residency, Zulkhairi Zulkiflee has been developing </span><em>World as Method,</em><span> a project that riffs off the Singaporean-Malay slang “world” in relation to the postcolonial notion of “worlding”. As theorised by literary scholar and feminist critic Gayatri Spivak, “worlding” refers to one’s conceptualisation of the world devised through colonial attachments. On the other hand, in colloquial Singaporean-Malay “world” is used to signal boastful aspirations towards a social status higher than one’s own, often conveyed through self-aggrandising story-telling. The creative outcomes of Zulkhairi’s conceptual engagement with different concepts and practices of “world-ing” are presented in the studio. </span><br /><span> </span><br /><span>Through a series of interviews with friends, academics, and fellow creatives, the artist developed a word-associative map which led him to ‘pondok’ (Malay for shelter, or pavilion). Similar pavilions are a common fixture in Singapore’s public housing estates where, as the artist himself experienced, they are used by Singaporean-Malay youth as a place to gather and hang out. The floating installation created for Residencies OPEN evokes the pondok as a space for communality and suspension from the hyper-productive and utilitarian mechanics of contemporary society. Furthermore this studio presentation also includes a selection of the artist’s research materials and prototypes that attempt to articulate concepts of ‘world’ through the language of sculpture and monument. </span><br /><span> </span><br /><span>Part of this Residencies OPEN session is also a lecture performance titled </span><em>World</em><span> which will take place on Saturday, 12 August and Sunday, 13 August from 2.00 – 2.30pm. </span></p>
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Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
12 -13 August 2023
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Yanyun Chen
Ben Loong
Zulkhairi Zulkiflee
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Southeast Asia
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Residencies
Description
An account of the resource
The studio-based Residencies programme is dedicated to facilitating the research of established and emerging artists. It serves as a forum for cultural and artistic exchange in Southeast Asia.
Residency
A research residency programme bringing together local and international artists, curators, and researchers. Metadata description should include research focus of residents, while individual bios will be housed within each contributor's record.
Short Description
As part of his interest in trauma and the potential of ritual healing through performance, during the residency Irfan Kasban intends to work on a long-term research project tentatively titled Port of Reciprocity, with a special focus on “Acoustic Sculptures and Communal Activations for the Burn-out Artist”.
Cycle
Cycle 10 (2023 - 2024)
Location
Onsite (CCA)
Offsite
Online
Onsite (CCA)
Collaboration
No
Commissioned Work
No
Related Countries
Singapore
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Irfan Kasban
Subject
The topic of the resource
Artistic Research
Displacement
Identity
Description
An account of the resource
As part of his interest in trauma and the potential of ritual healing through performance, during the residency Irfan Kasban intends to work on a long-term research project tentatively titled Port of Reciprocity, with a special focus on “Acoustic Sculptures and Communal Activations for the Burn-out Artist”. As part of his interest in trauma and the potential of ritual healing through performance, during the residency Irfan Kasban intends to work on a long-term research project tentatively titled Port of Reciprocity, with a special focus on “Acoustic Sculptures and Communal Activations for the Burn-out Artist”. Reacting to the tightly-knit architecture of Singapore’s public housing estates where the boundaries of individual and communal life are strictly compartmentalised and sound spillages are regarded as nuisances, the artist aims to unpack the socially-accepted notions that define noise pollution in the country. Irfan will experiment with building acoustic sculptures inspired by organic shapes that will augment the human voice without electronic intervention and enhance conscious listening through communal activations. Oscillating between different sonic dimensions, the human voice will be cast as a mode of disruption and forging connections. Throughout the residency, the artist also intends to conduct interviews and group discussions with fellow artists and creatives as a way of better understanding the causes of burnout and formulating strategies against it.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
4 September 2023 - 31 January 2024
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Irfan Kasban
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Southeast Asia
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Mixed Media
Multimedia Installation
Sound
Video
Performance
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Videos
Video
A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation.
Based on DMCI MovingImage type (https://www.dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/dcmi-terms/#http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/MovingImage)
Video
Embedded video or link to video hosted outside of Omeka
<a href="https://vimeo.com/692154083">https://vimeo.com/692154083</a>
Video ID
Platform ID number for video hosted online (e.g., Vimeo)
692154083
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
00:03:42
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
On AiR with Yeo Siew Hua
Subject
The topic of the resource
Diaspora
Displacement
Migration
Globalisation
Geopolitics
Identity
Description
An account of the resource
Artist-in-Residence
4 October 2021 - 31 March 2022
NTU CCA Singapore
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Yeo Siew Hua
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Southeast Asia
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Programmes
Programme
A non-persistent, time-based occurrence. Examples include symposia and conferences, public talks and performances, tours, workshops, open studios.
Short Description
Two early films of Želimir Žilnik are presented as part of the Non-Aligned exhibition which took place at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore from 4 April - 21 June 2020.
Programme Type
Screening
Audience
General
Location
Onsite (CCA)
Offsite
Online
Onsite (CCA)
Collaboration
Yes
Commissioned Work
No
Education
No
Theme
Place.Labour.Capital.
Climates. Habitats. Environments.
None
Climates. Habitats. Environments.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Film Screening: Želimir Žilnik's <em>Early Works (Rani Radovi)</em>, and <em>Black Film (Cri Film)</em>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Politics
Displacement
Description
An account of the resource
<span>19 - 31 May 2020<br />The Single Screen, Block 43 Malan Road<br /><br />Two early films of Želimir Žilnik are presented as part of the Non-Aligned exhibition which took place at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore from 4 April - 21 June 2020.</span><br /><br /><span>1. </span><em>Early Works (Rani Radovi)</em><span>, Želimir Žilnik, 1969</span><br /><span>35 mm transferred to digital file, b&w, sound, 58 min</span><br /><br /><span>Winner of the Golden Berlin Bear Award at the 19th Berlin International Film Festival, </span><em>Early Works (Ravi Radovi)</em><span> recounts the story of youths who took part in the student demonstrations of June 1968 in Belgrade. Three young men and a girl, Yugoslava, set out to defy the petit-bourgeois routine of everyday life. Wanting to change the world and inspired by the writings of the young Karl Marx, they go to the country to persuade the peasants to fight for emancipation. They eventually get arrested. Frustrated at the failed revolution, the three young men decided to kill Yugoslava. They shoot her, cover her with party flag and burn her body. The smoke rising into the sky is the only thing that remains of the intended revolution.</span><br /><br /><span>2. </span><em>Black Film (Cri Film), </em><span>Želimir Žilnik, 1971</span><br /><span>16 mm transferred to digital file, b&w, sound, 14 min</span><br /><br /><span>The film chronicles Žilnik picking up a group of homeless men from the streets of Novi Sad and taking them to his home. Žilnik carries along a film camera to witness his efforts to "solve the problem of the homeless," while the group of homeless men enjoy themselves in his house. He speaks to social workers, members of the general public, and even engages with the policemen. However, they turn a blind eye to the "problem" at hand.<br /><br />A public programme of <em>Non-Aligned</em>.</span>
Date
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19 - 31 May 2020
Contributor
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Želimir Žilnik
Zelimar Zilnik
-
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Title
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Programmes
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Short Description
NTU CCA Singapore will present a selection of films from the Asian Film Archive (AFA) with a focus on independent cinema from Southeast Asia. The launching session will feature the first part of Sherman Ong's film Flooding in the Time of Drought (Singapore, 2009).
Programme Type
Screening
Audience
General
Location
Onsite (CCA)
Offsite
Online
Onsite (CCA)
Collaboration
Yes
Commissioned Work
No
Education
No
Theme
Place.Labour.Capital.
Climates. Habitats. Environments.
None
Place.Labour.Capital.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Film Screening in collaboration with Asian Film Archive
Subject
The topic of the resource
Migration
Diaspora
Displacement
Race
Ritual
Description
An account of the resource
Thu 21 May 2015<br />Wed 3 Jun 2015 Block 43 Malan Road, The Single Screen <br /><br />Part I: DROUGHT – 92 mins | Colour | with English subtitles Language: Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Tagalog, Mandarin, German<br /><br />Part II: FLOOD – 92 mins | Colour | with English subtitles Languages: Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Hokkien <br /><br />NTU CCA Singapore will present a selection of films from the Asian Film Archive (AFA) with a focus on independent cinema from Southeast Asia. The launching session will feature the first part of Sherman Ong's film <em>Flooding in the Time of Drought (</em>Singapore, 2009). This docu-narrative fusion depicts the lives of foreign immigrants as they face an impending water crisis. Touching on issues as diverse as ethnic discrimination, ritual beliefs, World War II, and racial tensions in post-’97 riots Indonesia, the film explores how ingrained problems are transported along with migrant communities.
Contributor
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Sherman Ong
Asian Film Archive
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Southeast Asia
-
Dublin Core
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Title
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Contributors
Contributor
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First Name
Midi Z
Years Affiliated
Year range (starting year/ending year) affiliated with NTU CCA Singapore, or leave blank if not applicable.
For date range with year only: YYYY/YYYY, e.g., 2014/2015
For date range with year and month: YYYY-MM/YYYY-MM, e.g., 2014-07/2015-06
2015
Birth Date
1982
Birthplace
Myanmar
Biographical Text
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<span>MIDI Z (1982, Burma) grew up in Burma/Myanmar but moved to Taiwan when he was 16, where he studied Film Directing. In 2009, he was named one of the most prominent directors by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Academy. </span><em>Return to Burma</em><span><strong><em>,</em></strong> his debut feature, was selected for the Tiger Awards Competition in 2012 and </span><em>The Palace on the Sea</em><span> led to a Tiger Award nomination in 2014. </span><em>Jade Miners</em><span> (2015), his first documentary, was also selected for IFFR 2015. His most recent film, the self-reflexive psychological thriller <em>Nina Wu</em>, screened in the 2019 Cannes Un Certain Regard competition, and marked a major step forward in terms of budget and scope while maintaining a crucial intimacy with the land and culture of his previous work.</span>
Country of Practice
At least one country of practice should be listed for each Contributor, up to three countries of practice.
Taiwan
Public Resource Centre Affiliation
Artist Research Platform
Library
Video Resource Platform
None
None
Contributor Type
Filmmaker
Theme
Place.Labour.Capital.
Climates. Habitats. Environments.
None
Place.Labour.Capital.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Midi Z
Subject
The topic of the resource
Diaspora
Displacement
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Midi Z
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Southeast Asia
Asia
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Contributors
Contributor
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First Name
Azharr
Surname or Business Name
Rudin
Years Affiliated
Year range (starting year/ending year) affiliated with NTU CCA Singapore, or leave blank if not applicable.
For date range with year only: YYYY/YYYY, e.g., 2014/2015
For date range with year and month: YYYY-MM/YYYY-MM, e.g., 2014-07/2015-06
2015
Birth Date
1981
Birthplace
Malaysia
Occupation
Professional title or identity
Filmmaker
Biographical Text
Long-form biography for the Contributor (no character count). A short-form biography (no more than 240 characters) should be added to the Contributor's Description
Azharr Rudin (b. 1981, Malaysia), works primarily through cinema/films with recurring themes spanning across people and places in transition, marginal stories and perspectives.
Country of Practice
At least one country of practice should be listed for each Contributor, up to three countries of practice.
Malaysia
Public Resource Centre Affiliation
Artist Research Platform
Library
Video Resource Platform
None
None
Contributor Type
Filmmaker
Theme
Place.Labour.Capital.
Climates. Habitats. Environments.
None
Place.Labour.Capital.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Azharr Rudin
Subject
The topic of the resource
Displacement
Migration
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Azharr Rudin
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Southeast Asia
-
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Text
#7
PRIYAGEETHA DIA
In this episode, we hand over the microphone to curator and writer Anca Rujoiu
to interview our Artist-in-Residence Priyageetha Dia. Priyageetha and Anca are
fresh out of a year-long collaboration that culminated in Forget Me, Forget Me
Not (2022), Priyageetha’s solo exhibition curated by Anca which just opened last
month. In this conversation they share about the background research, interests,
and aesthetic strategies behind the new body of work presented in the exhibition
and they will expand upon the significance of colonial histories and marginalised
communities, agency and empowerment, media and materials in Priyageetha’s
practice.
Just a few words to introduce them.
Spanning moving image, sculpture, performance, and installation, the artistic
practice of Priyageetha Dia revolves around histories of exploitation and identity
politics. In recent years, she is experimenting with storytelling as a world-making
strategy to address and redress the flaws of colonial narratives and breed the
potential for future agencies.
Priyageetha Dia and Anca Rujoiu recording AiRCAST, 9 June 2022. Courtesy NTU CCA Singapore.
Anna Lovecchio: Welcome to the second season of AiRCAST. On this podcast,
we visit the Residencies Studios of NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore
nestled on the fringe of a vibrant rainforest in Gillman Barracks. In this series
of open-ended conversations, we invite different guests to probe the mind of
our Artists-in-Residence and unfold some of the ideas, materials, processes,
influences, and research methodologies behind their practice. My name is Anna
Lovecchio. I am a curator, Assistant Director of Programmes at NTU CCA, and the
editor of this podcast.
Anca Rujoiu is a Romanian curator and editor working in Singapore since 2013.
She was a member of the founding team of NTU Centre for Contemporary Art
Singapore. The numerous exhibitions, public programs, and publications she has
curated speak of her strong artist-centric approach and commitment to creative
practices beyond the West. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Monash University
with a research on institutional building, artists-led institutions, and transnational
exchanges.
[Audio excerpt from WE.REMAIN.IN.MULTIPLE.MOTIONS_MALAYA, 2022. Courtesy
the artist.]
�Anca Rujoiu: Hi, Priya.
international level, such as what it means to be a Tamil artist not just here, but also
outside of this [Singaporean] context.
Priyageetha Dia: Hi, Anca.
Anca Rujoiu: It’s really a pleasure to be in conversation with you today. We have
been in dialogue for the past one year and I hope this conversation will wrap up
many things that we have discussed while also raising new questions and placing
your work within a bigger picture. Before I dig into my first question, I wanted to
wish you happy birthday!
Priyageetha Dia: Thank you!
Anca Rujoiu: We are conducting this conversation at a very special moment.
It’s a turning point for you, age-wise. It’s a nice coincidence, as it happens with
anniversaries, to look back into the past so we understand where we are in the
present. Also, two weeks ago, you opened a solo exhibition at Yeo Workshop,
Forget me, Forget me not, and we will talk more in detail about it. With this solo
exhibition in the background, while also carrying this conversation at a turning
point for you age-wise, I wanted to start with a very broad question: how do you
see your practice and your journey as a woman artist at this particular moment in
time?
Priyageetha Dia: Thanks for starting with that question. It was definitely a
pleasure working with you for the past one year on this exhibition. There was
a lot of back and forth, exchanging, testing, and figuring things out together.
I actually see that process as part of my practice as well. It forms a rhizome.
It never really concludes. It’s always blooming and extending. And, you know,
my journey as a woman artist is not just me being a woman but also being
someone who is Singaporean Tamil. I think a lot about my identity throughout my
journey as an artist. And this is definitely challenging. There are discussions and
discourses that have yet to happen within the Singapore arts scene and I think
about bringing these up by highlighting specific lived experiences in my work.
They form a part of me through this journey. I find myself sometimes struggling,
sometimes embracing parts of myself throughout the process, but it is definitely
an empowering journey for me so far. I see myself looking at identity politics not
just on a local level, but also on an international level, such as what it means to be
a Tamil artist not just here, but also outside of this [Singaporean] context.
I see myself looking at identity politics not just on a local level, but also on an
Anca Rujoiu: Compared to six years ago, where do you see yourself now as an
artist?
Priyageetha Dia: Within my practice, in the last six years, I have touched on many
important topics that I find have yet to be discussed. One being my identity—from
where I started to where I am now. Thinking about identity is not just about the
personal but also the historical, the biographical, and the social. How there are
many, how do I put it, many things that I have yet to speak about. About the last
six years, I guess I don’t have one concrete answer because it’s still developing.
It’s still changing. But there has definitely been a lot of growth from where I
started five or six years ago.
Anca Rujoiu: I just want to pick up on what you mentioned just now, that you
started to look at identity from a broader historical perspective, if that’s the right
way to put it, going beyond the personal. I believe that is also at the core of the
exhibition that we worked on together, Forget me, Forget me not, where you
have been looking into the history of migration of Indian communities from South
India to Malaya to work in rubber plantations. Maybe we can start by talking a bit
about this history. Do you want to elaborate on what drove your interest into this
specific narrative? How did your research start?
Priyageetha Dia: For me, it’s a question of being in this part of the world. My
positionality within Singapore. raised a few questions and got me to think about
my roots, my ancestors, and their journey to Southeast Asia. I guess it was a new
way of thinking about the histories of Tamil labourers coming into Southeast Asia,
to reflect back into my own family and personal histories. And that started from
a conversation with my cousin, looking back at how labour has been so diverse
within our own family.
Anca Rujoiu: We should mention that your cousin is in Malaysia?
Priyageetha Dia: Yes. I would say I have very limited family here [in Singapore]
and most of my family is based in Malaysia. I don’t have other relations elsewhere.
So it’s within the context of Singapore, and Malaysia, where part of my identity
�forms. To think about these histories is to think it through tracing back into
Malaysia itself and then thinking about, you know, the colonial period of Malaya.
Having these conversations with my cousin was quite enriching because there
were certain narratives that I didn’t know were part of our family history. And,
then, understanding my aunt’s role in the plantation, and the sort of routine and
practices that she did, or performed, as a plantation labourer. These were things
that formed part of my research for Forget Me, Forget Me Not. And then it kind of
developed into reading accounts of plantation labourers that were being recorded
or documented by the colonial subjects. There were definitely a lot of emotions
that arose from reading these accounts; partly because the information that was
presented had a lot of trauma and pain, and there was the lack of agencies to give
voice to the plantation laborers. Apart from reading the accounts, there were a
lot of colonial archives that documented the plantation estates as well as of the
labourers performing the labour. Looking at that, I wanted to devise a new form
of thinking, or even playing as a storyteller in retelling these narratives in a newer
form that gave more agency, or respect, to the labourers who are skilled workers.
They knew the trade of running a plantation and even the ropes of tapping
rubber.
Anca Rujoiu: Maybe to give a bit more context to this specific historical
narrative, we should mention that the history you looked at was a time when
Malaya became the largest rubber exporter. It also became the most profitable
industry for the British Empire. This type of economy, as you mentioned, relied
extensively on migrant workers coming from parts of present-day South India.
From the research you did, and the documentation that we shared together, one
contradiction that we noticed, first of all, was that these workers were considered
unskilled, which is ridiculous because there was so much skill involved in the
tapping of rubber. It really required mathematical precision to cut the bark in a
way that does not damage, or minimise damage, to the tree. We also became
more aware of how the system of what at the time was called ‘indentured labour’
was more or less disguised slavery. It relied on forms of control across all aspects
of life, from the [labour] the workers did, the food they ate, the clothes they wore,
and so on. That’s a bit of the background of the research that you conducted. I
think what has been so distinct in your work for this exhibition is that you not only
looked into these archives, but you really confronted them. You were trying to
speak back to them…
Priyageetha Dia: Yeah, working with these materials, these histories, and
narratives, while thinking about how these histories were presented by nonTamil people… I thought, you know, these stories are being told by outsiders. So
what is my role as a Tamil woman? What is my role here? [How] to provide or
give a sense of agency back to the labourers? I mentioned before about being
overwhelmed with reading the accounts and, at some point, angry because there
was just so much violence that was being recorded on how they [labourers] were
being treated. For me, it was important to bring a sense of empowerment to
these laborers and I took on the role as a storyteller. I thought about retelling the
story in a way that I could give a sense of agency [to the labourers]. I don’t know
if I’m repeating myself but being a storyteller was definitely a challenging process
for me because when histories have been recorded with so much violence and
trauma, how can I form a new way of telling them? That’s what I struggled the
most with— to form a narrative around it. For me, the way I went about this was
to think of how I used language to describe and form experiences. Be it about
the human and its relation to the environment, or about the nonhuman as well.
So thinking about the body in its environment, about Malaya as a person itself,
and how it houses these stories. Not just to talk about, you know, plantation life,
but how they have been part of a landscape… to think about the travels through
waters to different routes. To think about the journey into Malaya. To think about
how they looked at land through a different sort of gaze. And to think about a
sense of care, and of being gentle in a way like with the rubber tapping leaving
the scars on the tree bark. To think about approaching it in a very caring manner.
To think about the life of the nonhumans as well, that were basically endangered
because of the plantation systems. Bringing back their memories was a way to
strategise the narrative for me.
[Audio excerpt from WE.REMAIN.IN.MULTIPLE.MOTIONS_MALAYA, 2022. Courtesy
the artist.]
Anca Rujoiu: You made this storytelling manifest in an animation that you created
specifically for this exhibition. We’ll talk more in detail about the animation but,
as part of it, you constructed a narrative, a poem, or rather, a body of writing that
is made out of a shared vocabulary across the Tamil and Malay languages. This
poem, I would say, really conjures the voices of the labourers and it guides the
viewers into the journey of migration and labour. Before we talk more specifically
about your interest in language, do you want to share the poem that you wrote
for this exhibition which is integrated into the animation itself?
�Priyageetha Dia: Okay. Do you want me to read it out?
Anca Rujoiu: Yes.
[Audio excerpt from WE.REMAIN.IN.MULTIPLE.MOTIONS_MALAYA, 2022. Courtesy
the artist.]
Priyageetha Dia: Okay…
Our Labour
was wanted
in the பூமி [ Bumi ]
of the
Sea People
Sayang,
the சமுத்திரம் [ semudera ]
remembers
the calling
for us to be
on the edges
of far-shy
constellations
and flattering
currents
the monsoon
breaths
and migratory
flows
exiled melanin-rich souls
from active chambers
of the கப்பல் [ kapal ]
Sayang,
the winds remember
the cosmic chants
of Our Descendants
and பக்தி [ bhakti ]
for Bodies
and Land
Priyageetha Dia, Forget Me, Forget Me Not, 2022, installation view, Yeo Workshop.
Courtesy Ahmad Iskandar.
�while we memorised
the faint சரித்திரம் [ cerita ]
of those Free
and Unfree
bellied deep
into the
unknown archives
We remember
these tender hands
circuiting
in bloodlines
that stretched
across
the ends
of other channels
into an
infinite abyss
who resisted
in whispers of
insolent tongues
living in
chronic
motions
on reddened,
rusting
lands
seeking
tenderness of
restful order
within these
Nusantara
worlds
Sayang,
these grounds
Remember
[break]
Sayang,
power was
never
peculiar
to மனிதன் [ manusia ]
the demands
for Us
yielded the raging force
into a common kin
the ஜீவன் [ Jiwa ]
of other
Beings
exiled into
a thing
of the past
rooted in
primal
reminders
etched
between
the folds
�and creases
of calloused hands
Sayang,
as the பூமி [ Bumi ]
withers
so has
Our Labour
buried beneath
like blooming
rhizomes of
flesh
and blood
Echoing, seeping
in between steel
and stone
and the smells
of camphor,
gingelly and
சந்தனம் [ cendana ]
still drifts
across
the Kalinga Seas
Sayang,
we remember
those of us
seen
or unseen
everywhere
yet
nowhere
murmuring in
Old and New
futures
under the
ancient
சூரியன் [ Surya ]
gathering,
locating in
spectral forces
amongst
the breathing,
living
in the
பூமி [ Bumi ] of the
Sea People
Anca Rujoiu: Thank you Priya. Do you want to talk about the process of writing
this text and why it was important for you to create connections across the Tamil
and Malay vocabularies?
Priyageetha Dia: For me, to think about creating this narrative or to build these
visual languages of rethinking the plantation, the stories, and the labourers, was
to also use language as a form to re-envision the other side of the story. The use
of ‘english’ was very intentional; english with the small, lower-cap ‘e’. I thought
about the historical connection of language by thinking through its similarities
between Tamil and Malay vocabularies. In a way, the narrative becomes complete
for those who understand or speak the languages. The way that I approached
it was to… write back. To think about how I am producing forms of knowledge
through this language and it doesn’t become easy for someone who only speaks
or understands english. The meaning, then, becomes almost foreign in a way.
Initially, throughout the process of thinking about the language that I was forming
for the narrative, we thought about inserting the English translation of these
words into the video work. I was thinking about how to not give it away easily if
someone were to watch the video, and about positioning the English translation
at the end of the video. That was definitely an intentional way of prioritising those
who speak and understand the language.
�Anca Rujoiu: At what point, or how did you, become aware about this shared
vocabulary? And what did this signal to you?
just making things with CGI. That was very enriching for me. Yeah, and I definitely
love the process of building things while sitting down.
Priyageetha Dia: I think about language through my ancestors, especially the
way my grandma speaks. The language which is both a combination of Tamil and
Malay, and sometimes English. To think about that mixture through that narrative
[of migration and plantation labour] was something unique in its positionality.
How certain words in Malay almost become part of everyday speech in Tamil
households here is a very unique thing, because you do not find that outside of
Southeast Asia. I thought of bringing that kind of structure into the narrative.
Anca Rujoiu: Does it give you a certain freedom?
Anca Rujoiu: Going back into the animation itself, we mentioned that this text
was integrated into the video, which I would say is really the core piece in the
exhibition. This is all computer-generated imagery (CGI). It’s not also the first time
you are working with this medium but I believe that this 12-minute animation
is perhaps your most developed video. It combines, as you already described,
tropical landscape imagery with more apocalyptic scenes of destruction, sea
waves, rubber trees, and we are guided through this landscape through the lens
and the body of a protagonist with female bodily attributes as well as a hybrid
entity. So before we dig deeper into the animation itself, let’s talk about the
choice of medium. I think it’s important to highlight that you are self-taught in
CGI. I wanted to ask you: what drove you towards this specific medium? And how
did you see CGI as an appropriate language to transpose this historical content?
Priyageetha Dia: It’s almost like… in the digital world you can construct your
own environment, or landscape, and you just basically put things together. Then
you have this entirely new world to yourself! In a way, you also take on a role as
a filmmaker, because you control how you want to envision your perspectives
of the landscape, of the environment, or of how your subject moves. As part
of the process of learning CGI, in a way you also learn about becoming a
filmmaker, through having that sense of control with how you create your own
moving-image works. Yeah, and with animation… I am still learning a lot about
CGI. I would definitely say I am still an amateur. I haven’t yet developed to be a
professional. But this work for Forget Me, Forget Me Not, it’s a starting point to
think about animation and film, as well as thinking about feminist perspectives
through making moving-image works. I definitely see that developing over the
course of the next few years.
Priyageetha Dia: For me, the last few years have been a way to reconsider the
way I approach my practice. Partly because I didn’t have a studio space, this lack
of space drove me to think about my practice digitally. I spent the last few years
learning CGI through YouTube tutorials. It was definitely a steep learning curve.
One thing that fascinated me was that I could build these worlds and have a
sense of control over how I wanted to form the narrative, or to form the way an
object or a subject move. To think about how that materiality could mimic reality
and bring about new forms of looking at a subject, or even a landscape… I really
liked it. World-building is definitely something that I found myself really interested
in, as a way of thinking about things in a very speculative manner. Working with
CGI opened up all these possibilities. The way I started working with CGI was to
look at free 3D assets or models, and to just play around with them. Through that
process, I understood the very different technicalities that come into play using or
Priyageetha Dia: Yes, definitely. Because I have that sense of control where I am
able to project my visions through a specific visual language. I like that a lot.
Anca Rujoiu: Can you talk more about this process of world building? What is
distinct about it? What informs your own vision about the world?
Anca Rujoiu: To make it a bit more visual for the listeners—do you want to pick
up a specific scene from the animation in Forget Me, Forget Me Not, describe it,
and give some details on how you crafted it?
Priyageetha Dia: It usually starts with storyboarding. By imagining the retelling
of these histories and narratives, you have to go through that whole phase of
imagining. In becoming a storyteller, I take on the role of envisioning how I see
different scenes, and these are almost very basic in themselves. Thinking about
the breathing body: do I want to capture the entire body or do I want to capture
a specific part of the body that encapsulates the breathing movement? So
zooming in, have the camera focus just on the neck and chest area to capture
that movement of breathing. To think about the sound of labour and then to
�embody the being itself as Malaya… I thought about all of that throughout the
storyboarding process.
[Audio excerpt from WE.REMAIN.IN.MULTIPLE.MOTIONS_MALAYA, 2022. Courtesy
the artist.]
And throughout this animation process, thinking about the style of how I position
the visuals was also to think about the absence of the horizon. I took on the
vertical perspective as a way to create a sense of timelessness in body and in
space. The horizon which is a very Western way of thinking about how land and
time are separated. I wanted to move away from that and think about the entire
animation in a vertical perspective, thinking about the landscape in a vertical
perspective… Even the body, and the nonhuman, everything was captured
vertically.
Anca Rujoiu: Yes, there is very little sense of depth in this animation, which I think
really amplifies its texture and sense of tactility. But let’s do an exercise and think
of a specific scene. I have in mind one where you zoomed in and you get really
close to the metallic skin of the protagonist. You can see the piece of jewellery
with the name ‘Malaya’ and you become aware of the materiality of the body. Do
you want to talk about how you thought that specific scene through?
the wall guiding the viewer through the space. Do you want to talk about your
interest in this movement, or of the performativity of hands that you have also
explored in the past?
Priyageetha Dia: I think about the figure of the hand as a metaphor for labour,
and I emphasise or amplify the hand throughout the exhibition space. I don’t think
about the hand just for its potential use for labour, but how it acts or becomes
part of a gesture of care, of embrace within that space. For me, the hand was
an integral part of forming the entire narrative for the video work. And then to
also think about how it doesn’t necessarily have to be the figure of the hand, but
also with the placement of the soil just beneath the hands on the walls, to think
about movement through other materials. Even with the hammock, it captures
the figures of the plantation labourers performing and working on the estates
so as to think about how the hand doesn’t necessarily take on a very large scale,
but it also exists on a very micro level. When you look into the works, the hands
are repeated throughout the entire exhibition. But when we were planning for
the show and we were doing the rendering for the space, I was initially looking
at how the hands come together as a way of emulating a hug in that space, or
Priyageetha Dia: I think I didn’t really have a specific way of going about it. I just
thought of looking at the details and the movement, and thinking of what would
best capture that. The materiality of the skin, you know, it could be read in so
many layers. I was thinking of the spectral figure, almost like a glowing body with
a glowing skin, or hardened skin. To think about labour and industrial materials,
and how it sort of manifests as a bodily thing. So, initially, when I was planning out
for that scene, it started off as something glowing and shiny, and then it became
skin-like throughout that whole process. Yeah, it never made, or mimics, a sense
of hyperrealism of an actual body or skin.
Anca Rujoiu: As I mentioned, this animation is really at the at the core of the
exhibition. There are many elements that extend in the show itself. One important
component are the labouring hands that are featured in the animation which
also takes a material form in the space of the exhibition. Someone who enters
the exhibition is confronted with these hands that are blown out and glued on
Priyageetha Dia, Forget Me, Forget Me Not, 2022, installation view, Yeo Workshop.
Courtesy Ahmad Iskandar.
�as a way of acting as a wayfinder within the space. Someone actually mentioned
about how the TV, or the screen, acts like the body in the space and the hands
sort of extend from the screen. So, in a way, they look at the entire space as a
body situated within the exhibition space.
Anca Rujoiu: That’s a very interesting observation because we were thinking
through the exhibition design as a way of creating a unified environment, even
if the space itself has partitions. In the architecture of the exhibition, the hands
became a bounding element and a way to create connections from one space to
another. I am also glad you mentioned the hammock which is another important
part of the exhibition. You improvised a hammock out of latex sheets on which
you imprinted edited stock photographs of workers in the plantations. You talk
about this hammock as a way to put these bodies at rest, if I recall correctly.
Priyageetha Dia: At the beginning of the research, while looking at colonial
archives and imagery, the ones you see resting in the armchairs or hammocks
were the colonizers. So to think about that in contrast with sites of rest and
bodies performing labour was a way to build something [new]. I actually bought
a lot of latex in the beginning of my research and I was thinking of what I could
make out of this material. The interesting thing about getting the material, which I
got from the UK, was also how it…
Anca Rujoiu: Although the rubber was produced in Malaysia!
Priyageetha Dia: Exactly. It’s quite funny because on their website, the company
mentioned about how they sourced the materials from Malaysia. The process of
buying back the rubber to talk about these issues was also part of that process.
Latex as material… it’s an interesting one because within the Western context,
rubber has been manipulated in a way that it becomes a material of fetishization.
I decided to look away from that context and to think about latex as just a rubber
material. It was a way of reclaiming that material back and to think about the
imagery of plantation labourers as well as how I could put those two things
together. So for me to build a hammock was to think about that specific site of
rest and to contrast it with the imagery of plantation labourers performing the
labour. In that hammock itself, the images are actually screen printed on the latex.
And in a way, the image becomes part of the material; it’s almost like it’s ingrained
within the material. It’s an act of, you know, bringing it all back together, or
reclaiming directly in the material.
Anca Rujoiu: We should mention that [the stock images] are screen printed with
white ink on a white latex sheet. So the photographs become quite spectral.
Priyageetha Dia: The choice of white ink was to think about invisibility, or even
just visibility. At a distance, the image comes out in its entirety, but up close, the
image becomes obscure, vague. You can’t really tell what the image actually is.
And I thought that was sort of an interesting dynamic in looking at the image
itself.
Priyageetha Dia, Forget Me, Forget Me Not, 2022, installation view, Yeo Workshop.
Courtesy Ahmad Iskandar.
Anca Rujoiu: And these are the images that you sourced online. If anyone
googles ‘Malaya rubber’, they will find these colonial photographs that are now
owned by corporations, the largest being Getty Images. You appropriated these
images and processed them…
�Priyageetha Dia: It’s a way to think about how colonial archives have been
distributed online and profited off by corporations and, also, think about my
role as a Tamil person working on this research. Do I then participate in the
act of profiting off the image by purchasing the image? Or do I just then use
the image with the watermark that is still explicitly shown on the image itself?
For me, my intention was to reclaim the imagery as a way of almost giving it a
second life, not to think about it as just being stored away online. So I went about
removing the colonial photographer’s name, and just retained the watermark of
the corporations who own the images as a way to think about the ownership of
the image, and the issues of consent in colonial photography, the power behind
the colonial gaze… I was thinking about all that using the archival imagery in the
hammock.
Anca Rujoiu: This is a very spontaneous question, Priya, but since you mentioned
your interest in latex as material… there is certain tradition of using latex in the
arts. I wonder if you looked at artists like Eva Hesse and thought about latex as a
sculptural material, but from a woman’s standpoint.
Priyageetha Dia: When I was an undergraduate, I actually worked on latex.
Unknowingly, it came about again. So working with this material almost forms a
cycle in my practice. But yes, I actually worked with latex as a material before. I
thought about it as a very sculptural material then, much in the same way as Eva
Hesse employed latex… I used it to create casts out of spaces within the HDB
home. So I approached latex to capture the space and the architectural structures
of a HDB house, be it the window grills, the gates, or the doors. And that’s how I
came about employing latex as a way to kind of create a sense of memory.
Anca Rujoiu: After talking about the use of latex in your work, let’s move the
discussion to another recurrent material in your practice: gold. At some point, you
mentioned to me that your forefathers were goldsmiths and part of the reason
that gold became such an important material for you was to reconnect with a lost
family tradition, but this time from a women’s perspective. Your graduation work,
Golden Staircase (2017), received a lot of attention. We don’t need to go into the
meaning and reception of this specific work, but would you mind talking about
the meaning of gold in your practice and also in relation to your other past works.
Priyageetha Dia, Forget Me, Forget Me Not, 2022, installation view, Yeo Workshop.
Courtesy Ahmad Iskandar.
Priyageetha Dia: For me, the materiality of gold takes form as a sort of ancestral
material, and I use it in a way to potentially transform space, or even take up
space in a way. That’s how the Golden Staircase happened. To think about
transformation, or to think about the experience of space, especially living in
public housing my entire life. To think about that materiality within that setting
was sort of transformative. In fact, that particular flight of stairs… I hold a very
personal relationship to that space. As a way of honouring, or creating a sense of
memory within that space, I gilded the entire flight of stairs in gold. It was meant
as a form of documentation before it actually got hyped up online and offline.
The work existed there for about a week, and I eventually took it down. Just to
think about the transformation of space through a specific material and to think
about taking up space, and honouring space, it was very important in the
production of that work for me. I also think about my family tradition, of being
part of a goldsmiths or even blacksmiths [family], and then part of it was also
about plantation labourers. It’s a mix. And I see these materials as a way to think
about my practice.
�Priyageetha Dia: The work was definitely a play on identity… to think about
space or taking up space was to also think about the entire building, since I had
been living in that space for a very long time. Then, I thought about how I could
potentially create these flags and hang them on each floor. It was a way to look
at the entire architecture of the HDB block as a body itself. And yes, it was a
continuation of Golden Staircase. It was also the year I actually left that HDB
block and moved to another neighbourhood. So it acts as a way of remembering
the space, as well as my position within public housing.
Anca Rujoiu: You also showed these flags in a new work within a gallery space
where you marked each golden flag with a word written in red; the words were
selected from criticism that you received on Golden Staircase. I have not seen
these works, only in documentation, but I was a bit surprised that you made the
choice to expose and amplify that criticism. Why was that important for you?
Priyageetha Dia, Golden Staircase, 2017, installation view. Courtesy the artist.
Anca Rujoiu: So one year after Golden Staircase, you made a continuation to it, if
that’s a correct way to put it. This was ABSENT-PRESENT (GOLDEN FLAGS) [2018]
where you hung golden flags on every floor in the same [apartment] block where
you had Golden Staircase, a block where you’ve been living for over 20 years. You
hung these flags on hooks which are typically used for hanging the Singapore
flag during the National Day celebrations and the work was later removed and
destroyed by the authorities. Apart from the obvious connections, what made you
continue with this work?
Priyageetha Dia, ABSENT-PRESENT, 2018, installation view. Courtesy the artist.
�Priyageetha Dia: For me, ABSENT-PRESENT somehow formed an integral
dialogue with Golden Staircase. As a society, we see artworks, specifically public
artworks, being formed within the environment, as reflection of society and of
how society looks at that material. Initially, when it was removed, I was told it
reminded [people] of Chinese joss papers and it was inauspicious. There were also
other comments about it being an act of vandalism and even a hazard for public
safety for those who are living in that block. All of these words were selected
based on, I guess, how people reacted to the work and they just became part of
the work as a stencil in red.
Anca Rujoiu: Maybe to think in the big picture about your practice… I think it’s
fascinating that your work started with such a material basis with these sitespecific works. You also did a series of performance works, using your own body
or working in collaboration with peers. And now, you are starting to integrate
CGI and digital technology into your work. How do you make these transitions
between the material and the digital? And how do you see yourself balancing
these relations in the future?
Anca Rujoiu: That was going to be my question: what does it mean for you to
have a studio space and if it will influence your practice in any way?
Priyageetha Dia: Definitely. Now that I’ve been provided a screen and some
speakers… I am even thinking about producing electronic music because I’ve
always been using found music in my work. To think about producing [my own
music] with the given equipment in the space, I’m definitely looking forward to
that, as well as to potentially create newer world-building scenes using CGI and
just testing it out on the screens. That’s what I’m looking forward to for the next
two to three months.
Anca Rujoiu: Great. I’m looking forward to it too!
Priyageetha Dia: Thank you Anca.
Anca Rujoiu: I think we can end here, no?
Priyageetha Dia: Yes!
Priyageetha Dia: I guess my practice takes on a rather shapeshifting approach.
It’s never really concrete in one form. I like to be as fluid and malleable as possible
in my practice, for instance the materiality of gold is translated digitally where it
takes the form of an alter ego, or avatar, and it shapeshifts throughout. It’s not
just necessarily about gold. Now, I am more interested in the historical narratives
of Southeast Asia, how that could be portrayed as a material, and if it could
potentially take another form by using CGI. So it’s definitely a transformation from
where I started to where I am now. I might potentially go back to thinking about
site-specific works in the future. I’m just going be as fluid as possible.
Anna Lovecchio: You listened to AiRCAST, a podcast of NTU Centre for
Contemporary Art Singapore, a national research centre for contemporary art of
Nanyang Technological University. To find out more about our programmes, visit
our website at www.ntu.ccasingapore.org, you can sign up to our newsletter, or
follow us on your favourite social media platforms. And of course, if you’d like to
hear the voices and thoughts of our other Artists-in-Residence, do subscribe to
this podcast. AiRCAST is produced by NTU CCA Singapore with the support of
National Arts Council Singapore.
Anca Rujoiu: This will be my last question as we are running out of time. We are
doing this conversation in the context of you being an Artist-in-Residence at NTU
CCA Singapore, in the beautiful landscape of Gillman Barracks. If I’m not wrong, it
is the first time you have a studio for yourself, right?
This episode featured artist Priyageetha Dia in conversation with Anca Rujoiu.
I am Anna Lovecchio, the editor of this podcast.
The Programme Manager is Nadia Amalina.
The Audio Engineer, Ashwin Menon.
Priyageetha Dia: Yes, yes, it’s such a nice feeling to have an entire studio space
to yourself to just sit, reflect, think, read, sleep! It’s a privilege to have a space
as big as the NTU CCA Singapore’s studio. I’m really looking forward to thinking
about potentially opening up the studio and showing my research to the public.
The intro and the outro were composed by our previous Artist-in-Residence Yuen
Chee Wai with field recordings of our non-human neighbours in the beautiful
forest around us. Thank you for listening.
�
Dublin Core
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Resources
Programme Resource
Collateral and other print or digital materials pertaining to residency programmes. Examples include residency brochures, postcards, etc.
Short Description
In this conversation Priyageetha and Anca share the background research, interests, and aesthetic strategies behind the new body of work presented in the exhibition. They will also expand upon the significance of colonial histories and marginalised communities, agency and empowerment, as well as media and materials in Priyageetha’s practice.
Programme Series
Residencies AiRCAST
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Transcript of Residencies AiRCAST Episode #7: Priyageetha Dia
Subject
The topic of the resource
History
Displacement
Decolonialism
Postcolonialism
Description
An account of the resource
Starting off the second season of AiRCAST, we hand over the microphone to curator and writer Anca Rujoiu to interview our Artist-in-Residence Priyageetha Dia. Priyageetha and Anca are fresh out of a year-long collaboration that culminated in Forget Me, Forget Me Not (2022), Priyageetha’s solo exhibition curated by Anca which opened last May. In this conversation they share about the background research, interests, and aesthetic strategies behind the new body of work presented in the exhibition. They will also expand upon the significance of colonial histories and marginalised communities, agency and empowerment, as well as media and materials in Priyageetha’s practice.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2022-06-09
Contributor
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Priyageetha Dia
Anca Rujoiu
Format
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Transcript
Language
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English
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Southeast Asia
-
Dublin Core
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Programmes
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Short Description
Screenings of exodus of nowhere: episodes 1 – 3, Lee Wai Yi, Enoch Ng, and Kelvin Wu (Hong Kong). Selected and introduced by Ting Chun Chun (China/Singapore)
Programme Type
Screening
Audience
General
Location
Onsite (CCA)
Offsite
Online
Onsite (CCA)
Collaboration
No
Commissioned Work
No
Education
No
Theme
Place.Labour.Capital.
Climates. Habitats. Environments.
None
Place.Labour.Capital.
Dublin Core
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Screenings of exodus of nowhere: episodes 1 – 3, Lee Wai Yi, Enoch Ng, and Kelvin Wu (Hong Kong). Selected and introduced by Ting Chun Chun (China/Singapore)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Coexistence
Migration
Displacement
Description
An account of the resource
<div class="event_single_dates text__exhibitions">17 Aug 2016, Wed 7:30pm - 10:00pm<br />19 Aug 2016, Fri 7:00pm - 10:00pm<br />20 Aug 2016, Sat 1:00pm - 4:00pm</div>
<div class="event_single_venue">The Single Screen, Block 43 Malan Road<br /><br /><p class="p1"><b><span>Wednesday, 17 August, 7.30 – 10.00pm</span><br /></b><strong>Screening of <i>exodus of nowhere, episode 1: the water is wide<br /></i></strong>Lee Wai Yi, Enoch Ng, and Kelvin Wu, Hong Kong 2002-13, 75mins. Selected and introduced by Ting Chun Chun (Hong Kong/Singapore), Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Chinese Division), NTU</p>
<p class="p1"><i>the water is wide</i> evolves around the intensifying conflicts between mainland Chinese migrants and local Hong Kong people in recent years. It tells the story of the very first controversy — the right of abode of Hong Kong citizens’ children who were born in Mainland China before the 1997 handover. The controversy ended in 1999 when the National People’s Congress in the People’s Republic of China reinterpreted the Hong Kong Basic Law to deprive these citizens of their right of abode in Hong Kong. Fourteen years after, we look back at this story and the right-of-abode fighters’ continuing struggle with this hardening border, in order to ask what defines us as humans, peoples, and communities.<br /><br /></p>
<p class="p1"><b><span>Friday, 19 August, 7.00 – 10.00pm</span><br /></b><strong>Screening of <i>exodus of nowhere, episode 2: gamble</i></strong>, Lee Wai Yi, Enoch Ng, and Kelvin Wu, Hong Kong 2013-14, 140mins. Selected and introduced by Ting Chun Chun.</p>
<p class="p1">One says, life is a gamble. Yet for the ones who are isolated and lacking in resources and information, every move is a gamble with their bare lives.</p>
<p class="p1">The grandfather who survived the embargo during the Korean war and the financial crisis of 1973; the sailor who witnessed the oil crisis and the Iran-Iraq war; people who fled Hong Kong to settle in England after the 1989 Tiananmen movement; the foreign domestic workers and Chinese farmers who travelled afar from their impoverished homes to cities where their contributions had never been recognised. Stories of seemingly unrelated individuals recount similar and connected experience with migration, ethnicity, borders, responsibility, and oppression in a globalised world. Hence we ask, what are the things that connect us as individuals with the world?</p>
<p class="p1"><span><b>Saturday, 20 August, 1.00 – 4.00pm<br /></b></span><strong>Screening of <i>exodus of nowhere, episode 3: rondo for the dis/placed<br /></i></strong>Lee Wai Yi, Enoch Ng, and Kelvin Wu, Hong Kong 2002-13, 210mins. Selected and introduced by Ting Chun Chun.</p>
<p class="p1">In a fragmented, non-linear style, <span class="s1"><i>exodus of nowhere: rondo for the dis/placed</i></span> recounts a series of migration stories across Southeast Asia, mainland China, and Hong Kong. As these stories of border crossing highlight the manipulation of identity politics for colonial rule, nationalist consolidation, economic domination, etc., the film eloquently debunks the mainstream narratives of political history and definition of boundary. This critical stand subsequently enables the film to find a new way to tell the stories of the powerless and reveal the hurt suffered by communities who were pit against each other by the hands of power. The screening with be followed by a casual conversation between the audience and the filmmakers.</p>
<p><span>These screenings are organised as part of the public programme of <em>A</em></span><span><em><a href="http://ntu.ccasingapore.org/exhibitions/amar-kanwar/"></a>mar Kanwar: The Sovereign Forest</em></span><span>.</span></p>
</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
17, 19 - 20 August 2016
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Lee Wai Yi
Enoch Ng
Kelvin Wu
Ting Chun Chun
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Asia
-
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Contributors
Contributor
An individual, collective, or corporate entity.
First Name
Clara
Surname or Business Name
Law
Years Affiliated
Year range (starting year/ending year) affiliated with NTU CCA Singapore, or leave blank if not applicable.
For date range with year only: YYYY/YYYY, e.g., 2014/2015
For date range with year and month: YYYY-MM/YYYY-MM, e.g., 2014-07/2015-06
2016
Birth Date
1957
Birthplace
Macau
Occupation
Professional title or identity
Filmmaker
Biographical Text
Long-form biography for the Contributor (no character count). A short-form biography (no more than 240 characters) should be added to the Contributor's Description
<b>Clara Law</b><span> (Macau/Hong Kong) studied film at the National Film and Television School in England after graduating from the Hong Kong University in English Literature. Her internationally acclaimed features including </span><em>Temptation Of A Monk</em><span> (1993), </span><em>Floating Life</em><span> (1996) </span><em>The Golldess Of 1967 </em><span>(2000) </span><em>Letters To Ali</em><span> (2004) and </span><em>Like A Dream </em><span>(2010) have won her numerous prestigious awards and have been presented in film festivals worldwide. Her most recent work, </span><em>Drifting Petals</em><span><span>, a bold and experimental feature/essay won the </span></span>Best Director award at the 2021 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, Taiwan.
Country of Practice
At least one country of practice should be listed for each Contributor, up to three countries of practice.
Australia
Hong Kong
Public Resource Centre Affiliation
Artist Research Platform
Library
Video Resource Platform
None
None
Contributor Type
Filmmaker
Theme
Place.Labour.Capital.
Climates. Habitats. Environments.
None
Place.Labour.Capital.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Clara Law
Subject
The topic of the resource
Diaspora
Displacement
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Clara Law
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Asia
Oceania