Installation
Escape Velocity II
2018 | Underneath West Coast Highway, Singapore
Event info: HERE
Escape Velocity I
2018 | MOCA Yinchuan, China
“Escape Velocity I, the work realized for the Yinchuan Biennale comprising of a sound composition and a visual score, stems from the artist’s interest in interspecies communication as well as from his refusal of capitalist politics of speed. The field recordings were made between 2013 and 2016 in Singapore, at Bukit Brown Cemetery, MacRitchie Reservoir, and the Rail Corridor, three areas of thriving biodiversity under threat from the uncompromising needs of urban development. Bird songs and wildlife calls have been manipulated and slowed down in order to prompt a form of reduced listening and render the animal utterances more easily intelligible to the human ear. The sound composition is recorded on a dubplate resting on a turntable to be played by the audience. With each play, the dubplate wears down, gradually degrading over the course of the exhibition.” (text: Anna Lovecchio, NTUCCA)
I’m very grateful to curator Marco Scotini who commissioned this work alongside MOCA Yinchuan and to NAC Singapore for supporting me, as well as NTUCCA where I was an artist-in-residence from April–Sept 2018.
Interview with Marco: HERE
Spectres & Spectres LIVE
2017 | 72-13 TheatreWorks, Singapore
Commissioned for SIFA’s The O.P.E.N 2017, Spectres is an artistic response to the notion of the Anthropocene. This new geological epoch is defined by humanity’s radical effect on the Earth’s equilibrium and the burgeoning number of species becoming extinct.
Evoking a dystopian future where the wildlife of this island has all but vanished, Spectres is an immersive environment haunted by the remnants of sounds that once inhabited Singapore. This work takes the form of an audio-visual installation derived from my archive of field recordings from local natural habitats. These deceased sonorities have been brought back to life and re-animated using digital imaging and sound visualisation techniques. However, the ethereal images and sounds that emerge from this process no longer resemble the creatures from which they originated. They have metamorphosed into a myriad of phantasmagoric forms and disfigured expressions, embodying a sonorous vision of a desolate horizon. In confronting the spectre of extinction, we are invited to reconnect with that which remains in the present and imagine alternative paths towards the future.
By day, Spectres is an audio-visual installation exploring the spectre of extinction. By night, it transforms into a performance space, Spectres LIVE, where local musicians respond to the thematic threads within the work through improvisational and experimental dialogues. I had the joy of collaborating with some of my favourite musicians from Singapore for this work; Cheryl Ong, Dennis Tan, Yuen Chee Wai, Fuzz Lee, Shark Fung, Wu Jun Han, Bani Haykal, Dharma & Natalie Alexandra. Massive shout out to you all!
Interview: HERE
Resident Frequencies: A Brief Aural History of National Gallery Singapore
2017 | National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
Resident Frequencies is an aural response to selected histories and architectural elements of the National Gallery Singapore. Consisting of eight compositions, the work takes the form of a cascading soundscape which leads visitors along a timeline illustrating how the site of the City Hall and former Supreme Court buildings has been transformed since the 14th century. The title of the work is a play on the term “resonant frequency”, which describes the frequency at which an object vibrates. Resident Frequencies seeks to evoke the memories that this site holds, setting their vibrations in motion once more. The use of the spaces in and around the Gallery is central to this work, and many of the compositions feature recordings made on-site.
It was truly a wonderful experience to work with the fantastic team at NGS! Looking forward to future collaborations.
More info: HERE
Respect & Exploit (Bukit Brown Cemetery I & II)
2013 | Saatchi Gallery, London
Theatre Street
2012 | Substation / Singapore Arts & Heritage District
This piece was composed for Drive; an exhibition on wheels that brought the audience on a journey through Singapore’s arts & heritage district. Curated by Kent Chan, 9 Artists were involved in the show, each creating a piece for different parts of the route through bustling cityscape. My composition took its inspiration from a particular street in China Town where Chinese Opera in Singapore originated from. Drive was running on 9-10th & 16-17th June 2012.
More Info: HERE
||| Movement
2011 | Stamford Green / National Museum of Singapore
This site‐specific installation was a collaboration between Tang Ling Nah, atelier | small and myself. The work explored the cycle of construction, deconstruction and renewal within the city and was comprised of three zones―remembering, contemplating and transforming―reminiscent of three movements in a single musical composition. Sound recordings from the urban environment are transformed and fused with architectural elements made from construction waste to create a distinct aural‐spatial experience. The work encouraged the public to slow down, stop and contemplate the perpetual cycle of urban transformation through the act of listening. It was 1 of 7 proposals to be chosen for Hub-to-Hub Singapore, 2011.
Project Documentation: HERE
Through the Mind’s Eye of a Needle
2011 | GAC Gallery, Singapore
In recent years, I’ve obsessively documented all my dreams upon waking – through writing, drawing and voice recording. Through the Mind’s Eye of a Needle is a search for an alternative method of exploring the meanings of my dream material, by translating these experiences into a sonorous form. This work was featured in a group show which I curated entitled Dream: Borderlands & Other Territories, at Goodman Art Centre Gallery, Singapore.
Project Documentation: HERE
Sacred Soundscapes
2010 | Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
Sacred Soundscapes was an immersive audio-visual installation exploring the significance of sacred sounds in the context of Singapore’s contemporary soundscape. I imagined the space to be a sanctum for the unique and meaningful sounds of Singapore that often get drowned out or disappear within the homogeneous urban soundscape of a bustling global city. It was open at Esplanade Tunnel Link from 9th April to 2nd May 2010.
Project Documentation: HERE
Sonorous City
2009 | Camberwell College of Arts, London
Sonorous City was an immersive surround-sound installation exploring the relationship between the soundscape and our perception of the urban environment. A series of soundwalks stemming from the River Thames form the basis of the work, which reveals an experience of London lead by the ear. This project explored potential ways of establishing a stronger connection with our environment through listening.
Project Documentation: HERE
Window Music
2009 | Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
The above piece, entitled Window Music (2009), was exhibited alongside Sonorous City, and also featured in Esplanade’s TimeZones exhibition. This work is a reinterpretation of a piece of music composed entirely from sounds recorded outside of a window in north London. It explores the cyclic nature of sound activity within the environment and the role the soundscape plays in our perception of urban space.
52nd Venice Biennale Documentation: Figments, Fictions & Fantasies
2007 | Singapore Pavilion, Venice
The piece above, Venetian Dreams, featured alongside a digital animation of Tang Da Wu’s drawings and a 12 minute sound composition comprised of recordings made around Venice. These 3 works revolved around the notion of impermanence as a response to the incremental sinking of Venice.