A private arboretum & arts centre in Malaysia
Potential sites for site-specific dance works. Click on the thumbnails to view larger versions.
The current choreographer-in-residence at Rimbun Dahan, Australian dancer-choreographer Angela Goh graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts (Dance) from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2007. Since then, she has performed in Lisa Wilson’s Elbow Room and in Soft Landing directed by Solon Ulbricht. As a founding member of the independent dance collective little moving poets, Angela has choreographed and performed in three shows at The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Art in Brisbane. She also created Like No Place for the Judith Wright Centre last year.
Angela previously performed in Kuala Lumpur with QUT at Tari! 07, and is excited to return to explore her Malaysian heritage through new choreography. She presented a site-specific solo performance entitled Octagon in the Round for ‘Dancing in Place‘ at Rimbun Dahan from 23-24 May.
After two months of physical and conceptual experimentation and investigation as resident choreographer at Rimbun Dahan, Angela presented the new works she created at Rimbun Dahan — see I’m seen it seems and filled and spilt — at a work-in-progress performance at KLPac on 11 July.
The Choreographer’s Residency at Rimbun Dahan provides accommodation, studio space and limited funding and production support for contemporary dance choreographers from Southeast Asia and Australia to live and work in Malaysia. For more about the residency, click here.
Angela will conduct a contemporary dance workshop in the main dance studio at ASWARA on Friday 17 July from 10am to 12.30pm. During the workshop she will teach a class and excerpts of her new group work, see I’m seen it seems.For more information about the time and location of the workshop, contact Yunus 012 332 1657.
Angela will perform the solo work she created at Rimbun Dahan, filled and spilt, in a group show at ASWARA:
Lepas….tetap menari
17-19 July 2009
8.30PM
Experimental Theatre, ASWARA
Entrance free
The show will also feature work by Liu Yong Sean, Kim Jungyeon, James Kan, Wendy Rogers and Jennifer Twilley (guest lecturers at ASWARA from UC Riverside), Shafirul Azmi, Naimsyahrazad, Melinda Kwong and Fairul Zahid.
For more information, please contact Bilqis Hijjas at 017 310 3769 or bilqis@rimbundahan.org
Recent work draws on the ideas of both physical and metaphorical ‘interiors’. I merge the flatness of wallpaper patterns with a view of a built interior, where a door or window may offer a view into an illusory space and operate as a metaphor for perception, memory and the body. This has led to new work that is influenced by organic imperfection; warped thinking processes and the idea that pattern is just one layer in a multi-dimensional world. There is also a sense of longing, of perhaps trying to find that ‘unthought-of’ thought.
My current research is in the area of pattern, script, pseudo-script and graphic symbols in traditional and contemporary Malaysian culture. I am developing ways to incorporate printmaking into my painting and stitching work. I am also currently working on a collaborative project with Mike Ladd involving still photography, video, sound and text, drawing on the pantun form.
Adelaide-based visual artist Cathy Brooks graduated with a B.A. in Fine Arts from the S.A. School of Art in Photography and Sculpture, followed by a Master of Visual Art and Design in Painting at UniSA in 2007. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions, and her solo exhibitions in Adelaide include IMAGINARIUM at the Prospect Gallery in 2008, Waves at Tin Cat Gallery in 2005 and High Road at Greenhill Gallery in 2002. Her work appears in collections at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Mortlock Library in South Australia, Trades Hall in South Australia, Prospect Council, and Chroma Colour Photographics. Cathy has come to Malaysia as the recipient of a Professional Development Travel Grant from Arts SA. Her work combines media and techniques from photography, fabric design and printing, and drawing and painting.
Dan Wollmering was born in St. Paul Minnesota, USA and immigrated to Australia in 1975. He is currently Senior Lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts and Sculpture Studio Coordinator, Faculty of Art and Design, Monash University.
Wollmering holds the following degrees: BA, MFA and PhD and has held 25 solo exhibitions and work included in over 40 group exhibitions internationally. Completing major public artworks in Australia, China and the USA, he was recently awarded the prestigious Contempora Sculpture Award for a socio/political work that part sculpture and part architecture. He has participated in overseas residencies including Malaysia, USA, and the Ninth Guilin International Sculpture Symposium in Southern China. A recipient of the Dame Elizabeth Murdoch Sculpture Award (CSA), he also received a Nomination Award for the Beijing Olympic Park Sculpture Design Competition. His work is represented in private, corporate and public collections including Regional Galleries and Universities in Victoria. The artist is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne and BMGArt, Adelaide.
He was one of the resident artists for Rimbun Dahan’s residency in 2009, and did a short residency in Hotel Penaga in 2014.
Lately, I have been trying to reduce the clutter that inundates our lives. Whether its junk mail, email spam or just ‘things’ that build up over time in the bottom kitchen drawer, the backyard shed or those items that suddenly make their appearance when rifling through the wardrobe, closet, bookshelves or unopened boxes − throwing out is satisfying.
As a sculptor, clutter is a constant companion in the studio. I find it difficult to depose of anything that inhabits a sense of wonder and aesthetic potential – compounded by the fact that someday, it could form the basis of a new sculpture.
For the last five years or so, much of my practice has followed suit; whereby, my aim is to reduce and crystallise the essence of the form and thus the concept. It follows in the tradition of Minimalism – perhaps less of the ‘hard edge’ and more of the ‘organic’ type.
In this manner, the work is abstract, sometimes familiar and sometimes ambiguous in their final character. Stable and unstable, expanding and contracting, the forms may also suggest references to a secret and mysterious life form; one of less perplexity and in keeping with the forces of a self-ordering system of modular construction and organic unity.
As a sculptor, I am forever cognisant of the rich and marvellous history of both eastern and western sculpture traditions, and to that end, my small gestures and contributions to an expanding and vibrant culture and arguably, one of the most challenging disciplines in the visual arts.
During his stay, Wollmering will be researching and documenting architectural forms from a variety of sources in George Town − as a catalyst for new abstract sculpture. Using the rich and diverse cultural make-up of Penang and the built-environment structures emanating from Malay, Chinese and Indian influences, Wollmering will be locating and referencing unique constructs as a conduit to new sculptural forms in his practice. Using mainly cardboard and low-tech construction methods, he will be creating hypothetical sculpture maquettes with a chosen few being made in steel by a local sculpture fabrication firm in Penang. These new works will then be exhibited in the Penaga Hotel and at Flinders Lane Gallery; a commercial gallery in Melbourne that he has been exhibiting with since 1990.
Draped around trees. Crawling through sculptures. Underwater. Underground?
Experience contemporary dance as you’ve never seen it before!
In the midst of a 14-acre indigenous Malaysian garden, and in the shade of contemporary and traditional architecture, seven emerging choreographers will present a collection of site-specific contemporary dance works.
In conjunction with the Art for Nature visual art exhibition, whose theme this year is Tanah Air, these works will lure us to unusual venues, or challenges us to view familiar places in new ways. Chance and circumstance — the weather, quality of light, ambient noise, mood of the crowd — will shape our experience.
Date: Saturday & Sunday, 23 & 24 May, 4-7pm
Venue: In and around the gardens and architecture of Rimbun Dahan, Km. 27 Jln Kuang, Kuang, Selangor.
Free Entrance
Photos on this page by Antradika Hamzah, Hafiz Hamdan, Bilqis Hijjas and Lee Wey Jiun.
1. Octagon in the Round
Informed by environment, this solo will be created and danced simultaneously. One body will move in response to current experiences of space, sound, architecture, audience, movement and texture, thus constructing a solo in and of the present moment.
Performed by Angela Goh, Rimbun Dahan resident choreographer.
2. Orpheus X
When Orpheus’ wife Eurydice was killed by the bite of a serpent, he went down to the underworld to bring her back. His songs were so beautiful that Hades finally agreed to allow Eurydice to return to the world of the living, under one condition: Orpheus must not look back as he was conducting her to the surface. Just before the pair reached the upper world, Orpheus looked back, and Eurydice slipped back into the netherworld once again. One last word — “Farewell…” — then she was gone forever.
Choreographed by Low Shee Hoe.
Performed by Khor Beng Hooi, Kyo Hong Xi Fan, Lee Wey Jiun, Lian Bee Ngo, Saw Li Wai, Stephanie Tan Lei Mooi and Woon Li Hwa from Charlie Tan Dance Theatre.
3. Can You Dance Better Than A Fourth Grader?
Ever thought you’d be challenged in dance by a 4th grader? Learn a quick sketch of steps from these young kids. Don’t be shy and clumsy as they will be impatient and
disappointed! Then the Cool Club shows you how it’s done, the weird, wacky teenagers keeping everything cool simply by ‘wassup-ing’ the environment.
Choreographed by Suhaili Micheline binti Ahmad Kamil.
Performed by Cheryl Soh, Erica Liew, Farah Sofea Nadzri, Falihah Asyiqin Nadzri, Wan Aiqha Liyana, Janice Yong, Siti Amellia, Teo May Jean, Ng Xin Ying, Ayu Azril Ali and Mohd Azizi Mansor.
4. Quintessence
In classical philosophy, four elements – air, fire, water, earth – explain the patterns of nature. The realm of human life makes a fifth.
Choreographed and performed by Rathimalar Govindarajoo.
5. House Awakening
What does a house see, when its shutters are open? Or hear, when they are closed?
Do houses sleep? Do houses dream?
Choreographed by Bilqis Hijjas.
Performed by Jojo Wong, Janice Yong, Regina Toyad, Jennifer Lai, and Yuka Tanaka.
6. Infantaneous
The spontaneous movements created and inspired by bebe and then some.
Performed by Elaine Pedley and Keeva Craig.
Music by Hardesh Singh.
7. Lompatan Cemerlang
Athletes shouldn’t have all the fun. Jom lompat!
Directed by Fahmi Fadzil.
by Angela Hijjas
May is nesting season, and we have sporadically heard and seen the Blue-winged Pittas that successfully bred two years ago in Rimbun Dahan. According to Jesmi the gardener, there are at least four individuals that call to each other from the depths of the garden. We hope to see another breeding success this year, so the area they favour for nesting (pictured left) has now been put off limits for grass cutting and pedestrians, although restricting dogs is a bit hard.
Meanwhile, among the native trees in the garden, the Firmiana malayana, mata lembu (below left), and the Kayea grandis (below middle) are flowering, and a very young Baccaurea lanceolata has a few fruits (below right).
No new snakes this month, although the Copperhead Ratsnake that caused such a stir a few months ago was sighted again near the studios, and I almost trod on one while walking the dogs up near the front gate! It reared up and demonstrated its characteristic vertical inflation that makes some people mistake it for a cobra. We have laid out the sulphur powder around the houses so people can sleep easy!
Ever seen dancers do something fantastic and fun on stage and think, “I want to do that!”? Well now you can!
For the third year running, Rimbun Dahan, in partnership with MyDance Alliance, hosted a day of dance workshops at Rimbun Dahan on the Labour Day holiday, to celebrate International Dance Day.
This year, our line up of local choreographers taught workshops with excerpts from their own exciting choreography, just like you saw it on stage!
9.30am to 5.15pm, Friday 1 May (public holiday for Labor Day).
Rimbun Dahan, Km 27 Jalan Kuang, Kuang, 48050 Selangor.
RM 50 per person for the whole day, lunch included. RM 30 for MyDance Alliance members (Join on the day! Membership for MyDance is RM 20 for students, RM for ordinary members)
Limited to 25 people, intermediate to advanced dancers only.
9am — Arrival, registration and warm-up
9.30-11am — Suhaili Ahmad Kamil, finalist of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Season 1 and lecturer at ASWARA, guided the group through the delicate zen-like work of Australian-Chinese choreographer Feng Feng Wang, whose work Suhaili performed in Australia last year.
11.15-12.45 — Azwa, hit choreographer of Malay contemporary dance in ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, got those muscles working with a silat-inspired contemporary routine.
12.45-2pm — Lunch break (food provided).
2-3.30pm — Suhaili introduced the crowd to the challenges of her new work ‘2=1’, which was nominated for Best Choreography in a Mixed Bill for the 2008 BOH Cameronian Arts Awards.
3.45-5.15pm — Naim Syahrazad, emerging darling of the ASWARA dance scene, got the group down to the floor and up again with the knock-out finale from ‘Line’, his group work which enjoyed a gala presentation at KLPac in January 2009.
Samsudin was the Malaysian resident artist for the year-long Malaysia-Australia Visual Artist Residency in 2009. His joint exhibition with Australian artists Rochelle Haley and Monika Behrens was presented in the Underground Gallery at Rimbun Dahan from 28 February to 14 March 2010.
Education
2005 – 2007 : Bachelor (Hons.) Fine Arts, Majoring in Print Making, UiTM Shah Alam.
2002 – 2005 : Diploma in Fine Arts, UiTM Seri Iskandar, Perak.
Solo Exhibition
2008 Enough!, Taksu Gallery, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur
Selected Group Exhibitions
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Activities
Awards and Achievements
Winner, Malaysian Emerging Artist ( MEA) Art Award 2009
Rimbun Dahan 15th Residency Programs, April 2009
House Of Matahati HOM Residency Programs, April- June 2008
2nd prize, Saloon Meet Art, Gothe Inst. Elle Six Gallery, Kuala Lumpur 2007
Finalist Pack Max Art Award, Gurney Plaza, Penang 2007
Consolation Prize The Tanjong Heritage 2005 Art competition organized by Tanjong Public Ltd. Co. Mixed Media 2007
2nd and 3rd prize, My Wildest Dream Global Transportation, Global Logistic Art Exhibition, Gothe Inst. KL City Library, Kuala Lumpur 2007
Consolation Prize The Tanjong Heritage 2005 Art competition organized by Tanjong Public Ltd. Co. Watercolor 2005
Monika Behrens was one of the Australian resident artist for the year-long Malaysia-Australia Visual Artist Residency in 2009. Her joint exhibition with Australian artist Rochelle Haley and Malaysian artist Shamsudin Wahab was presented in the Underground Gallery at Rimbun Dahan from 28 February to 14 March 2010.
The exhibition included the ancillary event, ‘High Tea at the Pleasure Garden’, a discussion moderated by the managing editors of online arts writing platform ARTERI (Eva McGovern, Simon Soon & Sharon Chin) based on the site-specific installation Pleasure Garden by Monika Behrens and Rochelle Haley in the newly constructed Penang House at Rimbun Dahan.
Over the past five years Monika Behrens’ career has developed rapidly. In 2005 she was selected by Felicity Fenner to be included in the prestigious annual Primavera exhibition held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Since then Behrens has shown in a number of prominent group exhibitions such as the Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW, Girl Band at Deloittes, EEA21 at the Museum of Modern Art in Saitama Japan, the ABN AMRO Emerging Art Award and theHelen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship at Artspace, Sydney. In 2007 Behrens completed a Masters of Fine Art at the College of Fine Art, UNSW and exhibited the outcome, Silent Bang, at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney. In 2007 Behrens travelled to Europe on an Australian Council ‘New Work’ Grant to research the historical and contemporary political art in Amsterdam, Madrid and Venice. The research focused in particular on the historical war paintings located in the National Gallery of London and resulted in two bodies of work based on the Australian History Wars exhibited at Gallerysmith in Melbourne and Firstdraft Gallery in Sydney. In 2008 Behrens undertook a year long studio residency at the National Art School resulting in a show at the NAS gallery. Behrens currently is represented by Breenspace in Sydney (www.breenspace.com) and Gallerysmith in Melbourne (www.gallerysmith.com.au).
Under the guise of still life oil paintings comprised of playful, nostalgic and seductive objects Behrens works subversively with serious and insidious ideas. Her work is based broadly on themes of loss, violence, deceit, power plays within society and the subsequent impact on the vulnerable. Behrens’ early works were provoked by her perceived manipulation of mainstream thought by the media and how this influence gives rise to fear and in turn invokes oppression. These particular works focus on current worldwide events that often involve violence with the opinion that violence is both a barbaric way to deal with conflict and a senseless form of self-expression. More recently Behrens’ practice has developed into well considered studies which are historically informed and concentrate on her own cultural context, including political, social, and environmental perspectives. While on residence at Rimbun Dahan, Behrens aims to focus on contemporary political issues within Malaysia. Local organic materials and Malaysian toys will be employed to create works that contrast perpetrators with victims, violence with peace and destruction with sustenance.
In 2009, Australian poet Mike Ladd spent some time at Rimbun Dahan working on four-lined poems inspired by the Malaysian pantun form, as well as writing a prose fiction work about corruption and the world trade in orangutans as pets.
In July 2010 Mike Ladd launched “The Eye of the Day”, a film poem he made during his residency at Rimbun Dahan, at the Lit Up Festival in Singapore. The film features Rumah Uda Manap, the restored Perak kampung house at Rimbun Dahan. Former resident artist Tony Twigg exhibited the film at his Slot Gallery in Sydney.
In September 2010, “The Eye of the Day” won equal first prize for the best new media poem at the Overload Poetry Festival in Melbourne.
Mike Ladd is currently producer and presenter of ABC Radio National’s poetry program Poetica
.
Born in 1959, he grew up at Blackwood in the Adelaide Hills. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy at Adelaide University, he began to publish his poetry widely in Australia. He has often collaborated with musicians, including the groups The Drum Poets and newaural net. Mike has published 6 books of poetry. The latest, Transit, was published by Five Islands Press in 2007.
In 2006 he was awarded the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship at the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and was a guest of Venezuela’s World Poetry Festival.
Here are some of the “Pantun Rimbun Dahan” in progress during Mike’s residency:
I start the great four-bladed ceiling fan.
Seconds later, a gecko drops to the floor,
stunned. Yes, the world’s like that.
We all hang on as long as we can.*
From the estate’s wall grey macaques leap
into the laden mango tree.
From your side of the bed, you told me to sleep,
but the night’s so warm, and I want something juicy.*
Oil palms, oil palms, oil palms, oil palms.
Freeways, freeways, freeways, freeways.
Oil palms, oil palms, oil palms, oil palms.
Smoke-haze, smoke-haze, smoke-haze, smoke-haze.*
In the warm evening, smoke drifts from the end
of a sweet and unhurried clove cigarette.
Your mind has thinned, then gone, old friend.
But the sense you made, I won’t forget.*
That cicada sounds like a dentist,
drilling all day into my eye-tooth nerve.
Shrilling on and on about Time,
everything you love, but can’t preserve.*
Out of the sky of luminous black
rain falls joyfully. You and I
who lived so long alone together
now walk again under one umbrella.