Southeast Asian Arts Residency – Page 15

Zaw Win Pe

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 28 April 201028 April 2015Myanmar, Painter

Burmese artist Zaw Win Pe undertook a short residency at Rimbun Dahan from April to June 2010.

“I am inspired by landscape themes, not with the thought of painting particular places, but of expressing elemental moods and emotions. But the paintings never lack the geographical and environmental characteristics of the places I paint. Colour is the key element for me. I believe colour can tell everything about human’s feelings and thoughts.”

Born in 1960 in Le Gaing, Mague Division, Central Myanmar
1981 – 1984 State School of Fine Art

Myanmar exhibitions:

1994 Wintry Winter Group Exhibition, Judson Hall, Yangon
1996 Five Fingers Art Exhibition, New Treasure Gallery, Yangon
1998 Page 98 Group Exhibition, Lokanat Gallery, Yangon
1998 Libra Art Exhibition, Lokanat Gallery, Yangon
1998 All Myanmar Art and Sculpture Exhibition, Yangon
1999 Aesthetic Journey Art Exhibition, Yangon
2000 Nudes by Contemporary Myanmar Artists, Yangon
2000 Artistic Touch Exhibition, Lokanat Gallery, Yangon
2000 “Zaw Win Pe’s Palette Knife Paintings”, Yangon
2001 Stroke in Tempo Exhibition, Yangon
2002 5th Annual Group Show, Myanmar Gallery of Contemporary Art, Yangon
2002 “Exotic Eye” – Solo, Myanmar Gallery of Contemporary Art, Yangon
2003 Page 2003 Exhibition, Lokanat Gallery, Yangon
2004 4th Artistic Touch Group Exhibition, Lokanat Gallery, Yangon
2004 Myanmar Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition of Finalists, Yangon
2008 Myanmar Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition of Finalists, Yangon

Overseas exhibitions:

2004 Myanmar Contemporary Art Award Exhibition of finalists, HK
2004 Two man exhibition with Ba Khine, Singapore
2005 “Searching the Colour with Knife Strokes”, Solo exhibition, Chiang Mai, Thailand
2005 Three man exhibition “Burma Stars”, Hong Kong
2006 “Quiet Wind” Exhibition of five Myanmar artists, San Francisco
2007 “Burma Phoenix” Group show of Myanmar artists, New York
2007 Contemporary Art from Myanmar. Group show of Myanmar artists, Washington, USA
2007 Art from Myanmar. Group show of Myanmar artists, Princeton and New York
2008 “Serenity” Solo Exhibition, Ernst & Young Solution LLp, Singapore
2010 “Christies-30 Artfriends Exhibition, Christies International Art Auction House

Awards and collections

2004 Winner of the Myanmar Contemporary Art Awards
2008 Second prize winner in the Myanmar Contemporary Art Awards 2008
2008 Painting acquired by the Singapore National Art Museum

Other Art Experience

2010 Painting was selected as 30 Artfriends Book.

Arco Renz & Amrita Performing Arts

admin Dance, Performances, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 27 March 201022 May 2023Cambodia, Collaboration, Contemporary dance, Germany

In 2010, Brussels-based choreographer Arco Renz and dancers from Amrita Performing Arts, Cambodia, spent an intensive residency at Rimbun Dahan developing the new work Crack, commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival 2011.

The development concluded with a work-in-progress showing, “Cracking in Progress” at The Actors Studio Theatre @ Lot 10 Rooftop, on 27 March 2010. During the showing, Arco will presented and explaiedn the movement material created so far and the dance tasks he has set for the Cambodian dancers. Arco and the Amrita dancers also discussed and took questions on their work.

Crack is a performance about the developing individuality of a new generation of Cambodians after their civil war – their conflicts, hopes, dreams, and desires. Physically exploring the themes of emergence from isolation towards integration in the complexities of the contemporary world, this performance promises to ascribe and describe through contemporary dance, music and performance the zeitgeist of a new country.

About Arco Renz

A protegee of famed Belgian minimalist dance artist Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Arco Renz’s productions reveal an intense physicality and explore the emotional force of abstraction. In his creations he consistently broadens the principles of Abstract Dramaturgy to light, sound and multimedia interfaces. Kobalt Works is the production organization founded by Arco Renz. Since the establishment of Kobalt Works in 2000, Arco Renz has developed a successful artistic track, creating and touring several performances as well as developing transcultural and multidisciplinary research and exchange programs. He presented ‘heroine’, a solo work by Taiwanese dancer Wen-Chi Su, at the Singapore Arts Festival 2010.

About Amrita Performing Arts

Amrita Performing Arts is an international NGO based in Phnom Penh whose mission is to preserve the spectrum of Cambodia’s traditional performing arts, while nurturing contemporary artistic expression. In 2011 they presented ‘Khmeropedies I & II’ at the Esplanade, Singapore, created by former Baryshnikov dancer Emmanuèle Phuon.

Dadi Setiyadi

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 22 April 200922 April 2015

Indonesian artist Dadi Setiyadi was a resident at Rimbun Dahan in 2009.

Lynyrd Arwyn Paras

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 23 March 200923 April 2015Painter, Philippines

Painter Lynyrd Arwyn Paras from the Philippines stayed for a short residency at Rimbun Dahan from January until the end of March 2009.

Lynyrd Arwyn Villanueva Paras (b. 1982), graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Technological University of the Philippines. Since then his work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the Philippines and Malaysia. A finalist of the Philip Morris Philippine Art awards, Lynyrd also took second place in the Metrobank Art & Design Excellence competition in 2007, and received the grand prize in the First GSES Museum National Painting Competition in 2004. This is Lynyrd’s second arts residency, following a six-month stint at the Blanc Compound in Mandaluyong City at the end of 2008.

Lynyrd will return to Kuala Lumpur to take up the TARP (Taksu Artist Residency Program) in preparation for his fourth solo exhibition, at Taksu Gallery in September 2009.

Oceu Apristawijaya

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 26 September 200826 April 2015Indonesia, murals, Nature, Painter

In 2008, Indonesian visual artist Oceu Apristawijaya undertook a three-month residency at Rimbun Dahan, accompanied by his wife Fadilla, who was volunteering at the international development organisation Third World Network.

In February 2012, returned to Malaysia and completed a mural at Hotel Penaga, created during his arts residency in George Town, Penang, under Rimbun Dahan and Hotel Penaga’s cultural program.

Under Protection presents treasures that need to be protected. “Our environment changes, as our culture does,” says the artist, “In this art work, both of them are in one unity that cannot be separated. Our culture gives us knowledge as our environment gives us life. By giving them space and time, we will always have reflection.”

The enormous mural stretches along an outside wall of Hotel Penaga beside a laneway between Lebuh Transfer and Lebuh Clarke, and is freely visible to the general public.

Bio

Oceu Apristawijaya started working in fine arts when he entered the Fine Arts Faculty of the Jakarta Institute, and was a member of Garajas Studio in Jakarta from 1993 to 1995. In 2002 he received a Bachelor degree in Fine Art with a focus on painting from Jakarta National University. He also studied graphic arts at SUDARFAST-Kraan Graphic Studio in Pondok Gede.

Oceu also volunteers for the non-profit organisation Sokola as an alternative education teacher for marginalized communities. He has taught literacy and alternative art methods for indigenous communities in Jambi and Bulukumba and for poor fishing villages in Flores and Makassar.

Oceu’s works centre around the theme of nature, and man’s relationships with it. He is hoping that his stay at Rimbun Dahan will help him develop the natural mood of his work and explore the diversity of nature, whether in Indonesia or in Malaysia.

‘Intervention’, acrylic on canvas, 120cm x 90cm, 2008.

‘Kerja Belum Selesai…’, acrylic on canvas, 120cm x 90cm, 2008.

‘Migrasi Kehidupan’, acrylic on canvas, 120cm x 90cm, 2008.

Oceu in his studio at Rimbun Dahan in 2006.

Oceu creating a portrait of resident choreographer Mcebisi Bhayi.

Nicholas Wong

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 23 August 200823 April 2015Malaysian, Poet

Wong Yoke Hin Nicholas took up a one-month residency at Rimbun Dahan in August 2008. He read some of his poetry in an informal presentation in the Underground Gallery on 25 August 2008. During his residency, he worked on pieces about Malaysian flora and fauna, as part of his first poetry collection.

Bio

Nicholas Wong was born in Selangor, Malaysia. He was a recipient of the 2008 Academy of American Poets Award while at Columbia University, where he will soon commence his second year in Comparative Literature and Society. He has also received the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2006 and the Singapore Young Dramatists Award for playwriting, among other awards.

His publication credits include The Rialto, Softblow, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Tablet and he has been featured in several local newspapers and magazines. He has read his poetry at Dram Projects, Seksan Gallery, National University of Singapore, MPH Bangsar Village and No Black Tie. He was also one of the judges for “50 Years, 50 Heroes: Young Malaysians You Need to Know” essay writing competition, and was part of the editorial team for Inkyhands, an e-zine to promote new Malaysian writing. He was proud to host Preeta Samarasan for her reading of her debut novel Evening is the Whole Day at Barnes & Noble, Columbia University. Besides writing, he loves playing the piano and harpsichord, and is currently learning how to cook.

Khin Zaw Latt

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency, Uncategorized 22 June 200822 April 2015Myanmar

Burmese visual artist Khin Zaw Latt was resident at Rimbun Dahan in May 2008. Following his residency, he returned home where he was awarded the first prize at the Myanmar Contemporary Art Award 2008 competition, a prestigious achievement which has greatly increased the selling price of his work in Myanmar.

Khin Zaw Latt then travelled to Laputta, in the Burmese south, an area devastated by Cyclone Nargis at the beginning of May. Armed with a donation from Rimbun Dahan, he provided the inhabitants of Laputta with aid in the form of clothes, food and help building houses, as well as books and school materials for children.

The work by Khin Zaw Latt which won the Myanmar Contemporary Art Award 2008.

Moe Satt

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 23 April 200823 April 2015Myanmar, performance art

Moe Satt, a performance artist from Yangon trained in zoology and community development, was in residence at Rimbun Dahan for three months, from February to April 2008.

Bio

Moe Satt (b 1983) lives and works in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). In 2005 he graduated from East Yangon University with a Bachelor of Sciences (Zoology). Since then, he has participated in over 25 performance events and four solo shows as well as digital art exhibitions.

In his art works, Moe Satt tries to reflect the order and disorder surrounding people and the neverending justification in terms of human internal validity. He started out as a performance artist showing his work in the galleries and on the pavements of Yangon. In April 2007 he attended a certificate program in Community Development and Civic Empowerment at Chiang Mai University, Thailand. He exhibited his first solo art work abroad at Chiang Mai University in June 2007. He has participated in international performance art festivals including Performance Site Myanmar 05, 8th Open International Performance Art Festival in Beijing, China and 9th Asiatopia International Performance Art Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Donna Miranda

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency, Uncategorized 8 November 200722 May 2023Choreographer, Collaboration, Contemporary, Dance, Philippines, Visual artist

Resident Choreographer March-June 2007

Artist-in-residence at Rimbun Dahan from March to June 2007, Donna created new performance piece bringing together local Malaysian dancers, video and sound artists to explore the idea of waiting, passing time, momentum and interruption in Extended Periods of Waiting, which was performed on June 8 2007 at The Annexe Central Market. The work featured live sound by SiCKL, video projection by Saiful Razman and Au Sow Yee, lighting by Roman Cruz and performance by Donna Miranda, Bilqis Hijjas, Yuka Tanaka, Louise Yow Sing-Hwa, Low Shee Hoe, Shaifuddin Mamat and Chan Seau Huvi.

The trio section from Extended Periods of Waiting was performed again as part of the Tari! 07 festival at ASWARA in July 2007.

During her stay, Donna also created I Will Think About It, a contribution to the 2007 Art for Nature exhibition in collaboration with visual artist Saiful Razman, and featuring Poodien. She also conducted a workshop in contemporary dance, creative process and free movement improvisation at the Annexe Central Market in June 2007.

Donna and Poodien creating I Will Think About It.

Donna received dance training as national government scholar of the Philippine High School for the Arts, pursuing professional practice and further training with Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theater, Myra Beltran’s Dance Forum and specialized training in contemporary dance at the 2005 DanceWEB Europe Scholarship Programme, in Vienna, Austria. She has since been actively involved in multimedia projects that explore new possibilities through works that combine contemporary dance, new media, fashion, physical theater, spoken word and sound. In 2000, she co-founded Green Papaya Art Projects, building a research platform for contemporary dance in Manila through its Anatomy Projects (AP+). Her solo ‘Beneath Polka-dotted Skies’ recently received 2007 Jury Prize Award in the Yokohama Solo X Duo Competition in Japan.

I Will Think About It, choreographed by Donna Miranda.

Low Shee Hoe and Donna Miranda in a duet from Extended Periods of Waiting.

A scene from Extended Periods of Waiting at the Annexe Central Market.

EU & ME Dance Collective

admin Resident Artist, Southeast Asian Arts Residency 29 July 200722 May 2023Choreographer, Collaboration, Contemporary, Dance, Interaction, Interdisciplinary, Performer, Visual artist

The four-person dance collective EU & ME (European Union & a little MISTAKE and an EXCUSE) consisting of

Joey CHUA Poh Yi (Singapore, Hong Kong)
Marie CHABERT (France, UK)
Csilla NAGY (Hungary)
Rhys TURNER (Australia)

performed their work FIND.MOVE.PLAY, an interactive physical theatre performance with digital art, for the opening night of the Art for Nature Exhibition at Rimbun Dahan on Saturday 24 July 2010. [Photos below by Anthony Pelchen.]

The Collective began in 2008 in New York, in the frame of the Dance Collective programme organised by OMI international Arts Centre. Then the artists collaborated in the Czech Republic as resident artists of CESTA Festival. After four successful presentations in Hong Kong and Singapore this performance at Rimbun Dahan is the closing show of a one-month tour.

EU & ME arrived at Rimbun Dahan on Saturday 17 July, and within the space of a week created a 45-minute work tailored to the specific spaces of Rimbun Dahan as well as inspired by the artists’ own experiences of being on a residency in Southeast Asia and discovering life in Malaysia.

FIND.MOVE.PLAY was performed at 10pm on 24 July as the final event on the opening night of Art for Nature. Information about the performance was provided through an announcement during the opening ceremonies, and by flyers distributed on the dinner tables.

The performers used a number of different sites around the property, including the central space of the underground gallery, the reflective lotus pond, outdoor sculptures and herb garden. The performers invited the audience of 100-200 people to follow them from site to site, linking the vignettes with a narrative about Orpheus and searching for love.

The performance incorporated digital art, with a dance film taking a comic look at residencies at Rimbun Dahan, and an interactive soundscape in which selected audience members wearing headphones heard the accompanying music change as they moved around the space. The audience was also invited to participate in the work, manipulating the dancers, helping them with specific tasks, answering questions and holding flashlights.

FIND.MOVE.PLAY alternated impressionistic romantic moments – Joey Chua wearing a traditional Chinese cheongsam and singing a Chinese love song while paddling herself about among waterlilies, or Marie Chabert flinging herself about among towered sculptures of lit glass – with moments of slapstick comedy, as when Marie slapped Rhys Turner on the face in retaliation for his bad pickup lines, and moments of unforgettable eeriness, such as Csilla Nagy’s mysterious inhuman emergence from the darkened pool followed by her literally stalking a quivering audience member. The tone of the work transitioned easily, tracing the natural atmospheres of the various different performance sites.

In addition to being a fun, funny and thought-provoking work in its own right, FIND.MOVE.PLAY also functioned perfectly as a teaser for Dancing in Place, a weekend of site-specific contemporary dance performances that will take place at Rimbun Dahan during the final week of the Art for Nature exhibition. By using multiple venues in very different ways, the audience was able to appreciate the potential for site-specific work at Rimbun Dahan. For many members of the audience more used to visual art, it served as an accessible introduction to contemporary dance and audience participation.