Since we are looking at the stars, somebody must need them…

Since we are looking at the stars, somebody must need them…

Work-in-Progress Showing

Sunday 19 May, 7:30pm
The Dance Studio at Rimbun Dahan
The work-in-progress performance will last about 30 minutes, followed by Q&A and discussion.
Free entry, no registration required.

Présenté par Groupe A – Coopérative Culturelle [FB IG]
Artistic direction : Pascal Marquilly [FB IG]
Sound composition : Rodolphe Collange [FB]
Video creation : Nicolas Tourte [FB IG]

[Translated from the original French, below]

Performances of wayang kulit in Kota Bharu, Kelantan
Shadow puppets and discordant sounds
A mythological tale and childlike smiles

A border in the far North
A few soldiers and congested roads
A makeshift vehicle

The moucharabiehs at Jahar Palace
Set against a backdrop of lace, the play of light glides across the floor
Spaces preserved from the furnace

White-hot beaches and sparkling waves
Insects sizzle in the sunshine
A few temples here and there, the voice of the Muezzin

All around, the forest, impenetrable and imperious
A misty green mass, teeming yet fragile
A few coloured sparkles

Gaping holes, exploitations
Palm groves as far as the eye can see
Ribbons of tar smoke

A city bristling with grey towers
An amorphous underground panorama
Upside down

Humid, dense air
Threatening low clouds
Electrically charged skies and sudden storms

In Selangor, a haven of peace
A few barks and fleeting ghosts
A botanical garden and facetious monkeys

The haughty words confine conversations
The night defies the darkness
Dark silhouettes outline the azure sky

This heat…

————

We carried out an initial creative residency in April 2023 at Rimbun Dahan. We have sketched out a mechanical shadow theatre that aims to question our representations of nature. After a month’s work, we’re adding to it with new research and trial and error. In the night, we no longer seek the light, but rather the darkness.


Puisqu’on regarde les étoiles c’est qu’elles sont à quelqu’un nécessaires…

[FB IG]

Direction artistique : Pascal Marquilly [FB IG]
Composition sonore : Rodolphe Collange [FB]
Création vidéographique : Nicolas Tourte [FB IG]

————

Des représentations de Wayang Kulit à Kota Bharu, dans le Kelantan
Des marionnettes d’ombres et des sonorités discordantes
Un récit mythologique et des sourires enfantins

Une frontière à l’extrême Nord
Quelques militaires et des routes encombrées
Un véhicule de fortune

Les moucharabiehs du Jahar Palace
Dans un écrin de dentelles des jeux de lumière glissent sur le plancher
Des espaces préservés de la fournaise

Des plages chauffées à blanc et les vagues scintillent
Des insectes grésillent sous le soleil
Quelques temples ci et là, la voix du Muezzin

Tout autour la forêt, impénétrable et impérieuse
Une masse verte brumeuse foisonnante pourtant fragile
Quelques éclats colorés scintillent

Des trous béants, des exploitations
Des palmeraies à pertes de vues
Les rubans de goudrons fument

Une ville hérissé de tours grises
Un panorama clandestin amorphe
Sens dessus dessous

L’air humide et dense
Des nuages bas menaçant
Un ciel chargé électrique et des orages soudain

Dans le Selangor, un havre de paix
Quelques aboiements et des fantômes fugaces
Un jardin botanique et des singes facétieux

Les paroles altières confinent les conversations
La nuit défie les ténèbres
Des silhouettes sombres dessinent l’azur

Cette chaleur…

————

Nous avons effectué une première résidence de création en avril 2023 au centre d’art Rimbun Dahan. Nous avons esquissé un théâtre d’ombre mécanique, qui a pour ambition de questionner nos représentations de la nature. Nous augmentons celui-ci, après un mois de travail, de nos nouvelles recherches et tâtonnements. Dans la nuit, nous ne cherchons plus la lumière, mais bien à rejoindre l’obscurité.

————

All monochrome works pictured on this page: scalpel cut on 250gr Bristol paper

Syahnan Anuar

Syahnan Anuar

Malaysian visual artist Syahnan Anuar is undertaking a 2-month residency at Rimbun Dahan in 2024, preparing for his upcoming solo exhibition.

Syahnan Anuar (b. 1992, Kelantan) is a visual artist and founder of Bogus Merchandise. He works primarily in the medium of silkscreen across different surfaces. His works explore the personal and political tensions in his lived experience as a Malay-Muslim male living in 21st- century Malaysia.

He is currently working on his upcoming solo exhibition. You can check his work on Instagram @kerjasanan.

Yap Chee Keng

Yap Chee Keng

Malaysian contemporary artist Yap Chee Keng has joined us for a 3-month residency from February to April 2024.

About the Artist

Yap Chee Keng was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2010 and 2013, he obtained an Associate Degree in Interior Architecture and Diploma in Visual Arts from New Era College, Malaysia. He went to Taiwan to study in 2016, where he obtained a Bachelor Degree from Tunghai University, and in 2020, he received a Master Degree from the Fine Arts Department of National Taipei University of the Arts, Taiwan.

Chee Keng’s artworks have won the 2022 Malaysia Young Contemporaries / Bakat Muda Sezaman (Jury Award), 2021 Next Art Tainan Award, 2020 Nanying Award (Western Media: Excellent award), the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (National Art Exhibition) Oil Painting (Category: Silver Medal), and also the National Taipei University of the Arts’ important creation award “Outstanding Art Prize of School of Fine Arts 2020” and many other affirmations.

Carpenter’s ink marker is Chee Keng’s creative inspiration, which connects with his childhood and his experience studying interior architecture. Now the line made by the carpenter’s ink marker presents a continuation of his life story on the canvas; they are repeatedly overlapped, stretching endlessly into eternity. The lines are densely or loosely distributed, or they are piled up. Countless colorful lines are piled together, injecting into the painting a sense of time and labor. Through the color combination that symbolizes culture and life, the author tries to create a diverse color space.

Website: www.yapcheekeng.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yapcheekeng/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yapcheekengARTIST/
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/@yapcheekeng
Work in progress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbcjbmL385k&t=67s

About the Residency

“Body Machines: Life’s Rhythm and the Dialogue with Technology”

In this series of work, Chee Keng use the human body’s repetitive actions to investigate the challenges posed by mechanization and the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to replace artistic creation. Through bodily performance, he engages in continuous actions and line-making, responding to the relationship between human creativity and mechanized labor in the contemporary technological age.

Chee Keng juxtapose human bodily movements with mechanized repetition, highlighting the similarities and differences between repetitive human labor and AI algorithms. With this comparison, Chee Keng hopes to provoke deep reflection among viewers regarding the impact of technology on traditional artisanal craftsmanship.

Additionally, the exhibition is inspired by elements of nature. Chee Keng has drawn inspiration from the life cycles and changes in the natural world, connecting the falling of leaves to the concept of life’s end. Similar to how leaves grow, wither, and regenerate throughout the year, the exhibition portrays the continuous cycles and resilience of life. This natural phenomenon serves as a reminder of life’s fragility and impermanence, juxtaposed with its enduring qualities.

The fusion of painting and natural elements prompts contemplation on life’s cycles and the passage of time, while also inviting reflection on the significance of human bodies and behaviors in the technological era. Through their artworks, the artists explore the impact of AI on artistic creation and examine the relationship between individual lives and technological advancements in modern society.

[This text was written with the assistance of ChatGPT.]

Nadiyah Rizki Suyatna

Nadiyah Rizki Suyatna

Nadiyah Suyatna, a comic artist/illustrator from Indonesia, is undertaking a two-month residency at Rimbun Dahan in 2024.

About the Residency

Nadiyah is currently working on Smoldering, a graphic novel about fire governance in Central Kalimantan. The project is co-written with Sofyan Ansori as part of Fire Play research project with funding from KONEKSI (Collaboration for Knowledge, Innovation, and Technology Australia and Indonesia). 

Set in Central Kalimantan during the dry season, Smoldering explores the friendship between Elin and Bunga, two high school girls navigating adolescence. Elin, a Dayak girl, aspires to leave her village and pursue her dreams. Conversely, for Bunga, who has recently moved from Bandung, the village is a new home she is trying to make sense of. As the weather gets dryer, Elin and Bunga experience the heat at the fire frontier where ideas, myths, feelings, and practices pertaining to flaming landscape collide and overlap. 

Based on ethnographic research, Smoldering engages with the multifaceted fire governance at the village level, depicting the everyday realities amid burning forests, declining livelihoods, and devastating fire policies.

Nadiyah Suyatna

Nadiyah is a comic artist/illustrator born and raised in the outskirts of Jakarta who draws inspirations from everyday life. Besides Smoldering, she has been working on another comic project about a fishing community in North Jakarta, in collaboration with Marco del Gallo. Their short comic Blessing of the Sea was featured in the anthology DENCity: Stories of Crowds & Cities as a part of the DenCity research project at Durham University’s Department of Geography. Her works can be seen at nadiyahsuyatna.com or instagram.com/nadiyahsuyatna.

Sofyan Ansori

[creative collaborator, not in residence]

Sofyan is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University whose research project examines relationships between humans and fires in light of the current climate crisis. Since 2015, his ethnographic work engages specifically with how Indigenous communities in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, navigate their thoughts and actions amid the recurring massive fires and the state’s ongoing desire to enforce anti-fire policies. Website: sofyanansori.com.

Lucy Zola

Lucy Zola

Multi-disciplinary Australian artist Lucy Zola is undertaking a 1-month Open Residency for International Artists at Rimbun Dahan in February 2024. During Open Day on 25 February 2024, Lucy will be sharing her multi-disciplinary works exploring the tranquility and unease evoked by the night.

About the Artist

Lucy Zola is a multi-disciplinary artist and musician from Adelaide, South Australia, who works in sonic art, installation, sculpture, interactive digital art, and photography. Rooted in the discourse of walking, Zola’s creations reflect on the human condition and our interconnection with the environment.

Lucy has been studying and undertaking language training, internships and artist residencies abroad on a New Colombo Plan Scholarship for the past year, her journey taking her to South Korea, Malaysia and soon Nepal.

In her artistic practice, Lucy strives to spotlight the overlooked beauty and richness inherent in ordinary sights and sounds. Through her work, she seeks to evoke the emotions and atmospheres of the landscapes she traverses, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in these settings and cultivate a deeper appreciation for their surroundings. Amidst an age marked by technology-induced detachment, her goal is to reveal both the allure and disquiet of the auditory and visual realms that surround us.

www.lucyzola.com

About the Residency

During her residency at Rimbun Dahan, Lucy’s explorations have also extended into the nocturnal domain, where she uncovers the delicate interplay between beauty and terror interwoven into the visual and auditory tapestry of the night. Her objective is to convey the coexistence of tranquillity and unease within these nocturnal landscapes, drawing from personal encounters with fear, fascination, and anxiety.

Lucy will be presenting her ongoing works, including an interactive digital graphic notation, sculpture, photographs accompanied by soundscapes, and an experimental film.

For more information about Open Day on Sunday 25 February, see https://rimbundahan.org/open-day-february-2024/

Studio 1914

Studio 1914

Singapore-based filmmakers and visual artists Studio 1914 are in residence at Rimbun Dahan in February 2024.

About the Artists

Studio 1914, a Singapore-based art practice led by filmmakers and visual artists Adzlynn & Hong Hu, explores the intersections of Southeast Asian folktales, ecology, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) art and experiential exhibitions.

They produced a video ‘Gambut’ which reflected on the futility of resolving the decades-long haze issue in Sumatra. It has been screened at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, VT Artsalon Taipei and George Town Festival. More recently, they created an AI-based animation piece ‘Madu’ featuring a Southeast Asian folktale for the National Museum of Singapore.

They were invited to curate a trilogy of experiential exhibitions as part of Rainbow Families SG, a queer art collective. The exhibitions took the form of temporary spatial interventions of defunct spaces at The Projector, a local independent cinema.

With moving images as their primary medium, they hope their works contribute to and encourage progressive conversations around navigating identities as Southeast Asians.

Website: studio-1914.com
Instagram: @studio1914

About the Residency

Since completing ‘Madu’, our AI-based animation featuring folktale ‘Hitam Manis and the Tualang Tree’, it sparked even more introspective conversations about biodiversity mentioned in Southeast Asian stories and how we relate to nature. 

In our Hitam Manis animation, the term ‘Taman Larangan Diraja’ (Forbidden Garden) was a key visual space we had to design. These taman (gardens) are architectural spaces mentioned in the Sejarah Melayu and across other folktales from Southeast Asia. We wondered about the function and aesthetics of such gardens. In designing a fictional forbidden garden, do we make comparisons to actual historical royal gardens in Southeast Asia? What kind of biodiversity would the royal palaces have encouraged? Did any parts of their designs endure through to our modern times, if at all?

In our research, we noticed parallels between the layouts of forbidden gardens and Rimbun Dahan. We turn again to our palace gardener, Hitam Manis, for inspiration. What would it be like, if we were to imagine and design the scene of the ‘Forbidden Garden’ inspired by Rimbun Dahan?

Hardiwan Prayogo

Hardiwan Prayogo

Indonesia film enthusiast and archivist Hardiwan Prayogo is a resident artist at Rimbun Dahan in February 2024.

About the Artist

Hi everyone, I’m Hardiwan Prayogo; you can call me Yoga. I am a film enthusiast from Yogyakarta and a member of the Cinemartani film community. From 2014 to 2018, I served as one of the programmers for Bioskop FKY (Yogyakarta Arts Festival). I also worked as a programmer for the Festival Film Dokumenter (FFD) in 2019 and 2022. In 2019, I became one of the grantees of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) to visit Manila, Philippines, for research titled “Re-definition from the Bottom.” From 2018 to 2021, I worked as an archivist at the Indonesian Visual Art Archive (IVAA). At the end of 2023, I was selected as one of the participants for the 17th Crack International Art Camp in Kushtia, Bangladesh.

https://www.instagram.com/yogaprayogo27/
Email: hardiwanprayogo@gmail.com

About the Residency

My project at Rimbun Dahan is titled Ceritakan Kisah Tentang Taman Seperti Tak Ada Hari Esok – Tell Me the Tale of Gardens Like There’s No Tomorrow.

The tale about gardens in Southeast Asia is not a recent phenomenon, it has roots that go back before the waves of European colonial expansion. Traces of this narrative can be found in ancient texts, ranging from legends and poetry to reliefs on temples. In some ancient texts, we can find meanings attributed to gardens, primarily their role as resistance against graves (Setra). Graves are often associated with death and destruction, while gardens symbolize rebirth and renewal. Secondly, gardens often represent mountains (ArdiArga) and seas (TasikSegara), symbolizing land and water as the essence of life. Thirdly, gardens are seen as heavenly oases, places of retreat, meditation, asceticism, and taboo. In addition, Southeast Asian cultural scholar Dennys Lombard also touches on gardens as spaces of aesthetic and symbolic appreciation in post-colonial societies. There is an attempt to harmonize the syncretic life of the East with the European style.

During one month of residency at Rimbun Dahan, I sought a closer context on how gardens and neighboring lives are constructed in Selangor, particularly in Kampung Cempedak, Kuang. Here, I found many houses with spacious gardens. However, on the other side, some residents I met felt burdened by the upkeep of large gardens. One of the biggest challenges is to protect the gardens from wild animals such as monkeys and wild boars. This, of course, became the consequence that the cost of garden maintenance will be quite high. The larger the garden, the higher the price. This presents a dilemma in itself. We can see this as one form of the lifestyle change of contemporary society today. When gardens and fields are no longer seen as economic commodities, let alone the concept of sustainable farming, then the affordable solution for them is only two things: to clear the garden for building or to sell it.

Therefore, this project is titled Tell Me the Tale of Gardens Like There’s No Tomorrow. I want to invite people to collaboratively narrate their stories about gardens through the archives of texts and photographic works that I show. So, if someday these gardens are no longer in our sight today, at least the stories about them remain in the corners of our memory.


Gardika Gigih

Gardika Gigih

Indonesian composer Gardika Gigih is at Rimbun Dahan for a two-month residency in 2024.

About the Artist

Gardika Gigih Pradipta is an Indonesian composer, pianist, and soundscape researcher. After studying composition at the Indonesian Institute of Arts, Gardika’s interest in the intersection of music, society, and culture led him to pursue a Masters Degree in Cultural Anthropology. His works span numerous genres, from concerts to contemporary improvisation, film scoring, and sound ethnography. His debut album Nyala (2017), released by Indonesian independent label Sorge Records, received widespread acclaim and was named a top album of the year by The Jakarta Post.

In 2019, Gardika received a fellowship from The Japan Foundation Asia Center to conduct soundscape research as cultural narratives in Southeast Asia and Japan. Published in www.lostinsound.art
From January to June 2023, he lived in New York as an Asian Cultural Council Fellow, to study cultural diversity and multicultural collaboration in the New York music scene. Last May at the British Library, his composition “Mimpi Owa: A Duet with Javanese Gibbons” won the “Sound of the Year Awards” for the Composed with Sound category, initiated by the BBC Radiophonic Institute and the Museum of Sounds.

Gardika is continuing to develop new compositions and electroacoustic works inspired by his global research.

https://www.instagram.com/gardikagigih/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0o6rbDGIxDEw5vzGKyxdcK

About the Residency

Every day at Rimbun Dahan, from the very morning until late at night, I listen to so many sounds from the tropical nature surrounding us. It’s a wonderful experience to feel so many creatures living together in this place, and it makes me listen deeper to the various birds, insects, dogs, winds, etc. to know that they have their own characteristics, timbral, rhythm, texture, and even daily hours. For example, some insects only create sounds between 7pm and 8pm, and some birds mostly sing in the early morning during sunrise. It’s nurturing my ear sensibility.

From this pure listening experience, I want to create “Mikrokosmos 2: Saripati Kehidupan”, a series of compositions with this magical natural soundscape recording, and combine it with music instruments from various cultures, including gambus, guzheng, cello, Balinese gamelan, and piano. This work is a reflection on our current environmental crisis. What can we still do for our shared Earth?

Alyssa Powell-Ascura

Alyssa Powell-Ascura

Asian Australian multidisciplinary artist Alyssa Powell-Ascura is undertaking the first Delima Residency at Rimbun Dahan, sponsored by the Mahmood Martin Foundation in cooperation with The Mill, Adelaide. During the residency, Alyssa has been researching a new multidiscplinary work for her solo exhibition at The Mill in 2024, as well as immersing herself in living in Southeast Asia.

About the Artist

A self titled “slashie”, Alyssa Powell-Ascura is an emerging multi-hyphenated creative. As an Asian Australian, her background has given her an interesting, layered perspective on the world. Alyssa works across a variety of artistic mediums including: writing, visual and conceptual art, immersive installation, traditional and mixed digital media, and moving images, just to name a few. Her personal belief in the interconnected relationship of humans to nature drives her to pursue advocating better care of ourselves and our Earth. A finalist of the inaugural SA Environment Awards 2023, she was nominated for her environmental advocacy and using her platform as an emerging creative to promote sustainability and inspire young people. Her artistic expression delves into her personal narrative as the grandchild of an Igorot woman, weaving a narrative that explores her ties to Indigenous Philippines, Filipino history, diaspora, and the impact of colonisation.

Through her creative practice, Alyssa generously shares her experiences with audiences, offering a platform that balances vulnerability and empowerment. Her work intricately holds space for an open dialogue, inviting viewers to engage with her journey, intertwining personal history with broader societal narratives. Her creative work has been featured in a variety of local and international publications such as: Local Brown Baby (US), Kindling and Sage magazine (AU), Blank Street Press (AU) and The Philippine Times (AU). She has been published in The Entree.Pinays’ anthology “The Calamansi Story: Filipino Migrants in Australia” (2023).

Alyssa’s first participation in the South Australian Living Artist Festival (SALA) in 2023 led to her work, “Those who do not look back to their origins, can not get to their destination,” being a Top 3 Finalist for the Emerging Artist Award amidst over 10,000 participating artists—an immensely humbling recognition.

Lastly, she is the first recipient of the Delima Residency, sponsored by the Mahmood Martin Foundation in collaboration with South Australian Gallery The Mill. Currently in Malaysia, Alyssa embraces this invaluable cross-cultural experience to pursue innovative artistic research and multidisciplinary exploration. She will have a solo exhibition at The Mill in 2024. If she’s not talking to the local Aunties and writing about food and culture, she can be found by the beach patting puppies who stop by to say hello.

Artist Portfolio/Website: roseandcitrus.com/aly/
Instagram: @apowellascura | @alyssapowell
YouTube: youtube.com/@alyssapowellascura/

About the Residency

In 2023, The Mill is offering one South Australian artist the opportunity to travel to Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia, for a 3-month (residential) residency, October-December 2023, entitled the Delima Residency, in cooperation with Mahmood Martin Foundation. This will be followed by a 3-month (non-residential) studio residency at The Mill, and a solo exhibition outcome presented in The Mill Showcase.

As the recipient of the very first Delima Residency, Alyssa has been using this opportunity to develop new artistic led research, experimentation and no doubt multidisciplinary works that may go on to be exhibited at her solo exhibition at The Mill in 2024. This international residency presents Alyssa with an invaluable chance to immerse herself in Southeast Asia, with the ability to understand and engage with the region on a deeply personal level. This opportunity stands as a pivotal moment in Alyssa’s career as an emerging artist, facilitating her introduction within the South Australian arts community. Moreover, it serves as a catalyst for forging remarkable connections between art, geography and history, marking a significant leap forward in her creative journey.

About the Open Day Screening

On Rimbun Dahan Open Day on 26 November 2023, Alyssa will be screening a presentation of her video work “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan” | “Those who do not look back at their origins, can not get to their destination”.

First presented as part of the South Australian Living Artists Festival 2023 and a Top 3 Finalist for the City Rural Emerging Artist Award, the work focuses on the artist in an act of choreographed fight, in a traditional Philippine attire, highlighting Filipina resistance throughout history. Using arnis or fighting sticks originating from the Philippines, the artist dances with a spoken word poetry in the background.

“Taga saan ka?
Where are you from?
Taga dito ako.
I’m from here.”

The work prompt viewers to reflect on attitudes that have influenced the Australian society since the 1980s, shortly after White Australia Policy was abolished. During this time frame, the views of women from The Philippines were predominantly negative, with a strong attachment to the “Mail Order Bride” ideas perpetuated by sensationalised media. First generation Filipinas migrating to Australia were subjected to racist acts, some even resulting in violence, or worse, death. The work is a poignant attempt at decolonisation on a personal level, and viewers are invited to engage in a respectful, open manner. Powell-Ascura bravely asks how one might confront and shift their own biases, and how we can acknowledge the histories of Australia to work towards a better, fruitful present.

Ny&Khun

Ny&Khun

Cambodian contemporary art duo Ny&Khun has been in residence at Rimbun Dahan for two months in 2023, reflecting upon their future directions, and developing a new contemporary dance work, Pilgrim.

About the Artists

Ny&Khun (Ny Lai and Khun Sreynoch) are a Cambodian contemporary art duo. Our main form of expression is dance/theatre, combined with photography and painting. We have operated as a duo for 3 years, emerging from a group called New Cambodian Artists (NCA) that still functions as our umbrella foundation.

Our work SnowWhite/Revisited was selected for the Singapore M1 Fringe Festival 2021. Because of COVID we could only show them a basic video, yet we had great reviews. The video SnowWhite/Revisited also won 2nd prize of the Expert-Jury of the international theater competition from Milan, Italy in 2021.

Early this year, we were invited to be the main artists at the international Angkor Photo Festival 2023, with our photography work series Speaking in Silence. We opened the festival with a short performance, “How do
you think it feels”.

We won the 1st ZKB Acknowledgment prize at the Zurcher Theater Spectacle Switzerland 2023, with our work Sronoh/SnowWhite. This is what the international jury says about our work.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewCambodianArtists
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user79893554
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nca_newcambodianartists/

About the Residency

We have been on residency in Rimbun Dahan, spending time to reflect on our recent developments and our future directions as a company. We have also been working on our new piece, Pilgrim. We are so excited to share our work in progress with you this Open Day.