![Installation view of Maile Meyer & Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick’s KĪPUKA [for “Natasha”] (2022), as part of Singapore Biennale 2022 named Natasha. Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum](https://artsequator.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/2022/12/Installation-view-of-Maile-Meyer-Drew-Kahu%CA%BBaina-Brodericks-KIPUKA-for-Natasha-2022-as-part-of-Singapore-Biennale-2022-named-Natasha.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum-1620x1080.jpg)
Natasha: A Biennale By Any Other Name
Striving to experience Natasha on their own terms, Xiao Ting Teo runs through the gamut of emotions, from exhaustion to uncertainty, to amusement, to moments of connection at the Singapore Biennale 2022.
Reviews
Criticism and Tears: The Emotional is Political in the Marcos State
When a film taps on emotions to distort historical facts, criticism that uses a rational, adversarial voice, above the work and the audiences who enjoy it may fail to dislodge the emotive power of the work’s narrative. Pristine De Leon looks for a path forward as a critic in this tricky landscape in her review of Maid in Malacañang’, a fictionalised retelling of the last days of the first Marcos presidency.
Memori Menonton “Two Lines In a Square”: Penjara Bahasa dan Sang Tahanan Bebas Separa
Azrin Fauzi mengulas “Two Lines in A Square”, persembahan yang dilancar di Taipei dan Kuala Lumpur dari dua perspektif berbeza.
Make Hantus Great Again: Breaking Bread With the Undead
“Make Hantus Great Again”, Teatre Ekamatra’s latest production, combines kooky supernatural characters with social commentary this Halloween.
T.H.E Dance Company: Infinitely Human
T.H.E Dance Company’s Infinitely Closer at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre, Singapore, creates space for human connections .
Ghaib: Can the Unheard Speak?
Faisal Tehrani’s ‘Ghaib’, a complex portrayal of family, agency and voice, contends that real emancipation is still elusive in our society.
Berak: Letting it Go
Naeem Kapadia reviews ‘Berak’ by Singapore’s Teater Ekamatra and comes away moved by the sensitive trancreation of the original play by Chong Tze Chien.
Hurt Need Undo Live: A Mantra of Possibilities
In his latest exhibition, Jerome Kugan embraces his amorphous self and allows themes of religion, sexuality and nudity to intertwine ever so delicately.
Reconsidering the Commandments with Wild Rice’s Animal Farm (2022)
In Wild Rice’s restaging of Animal Farm, Rebecca G finds a production that leavens the darker aspects of the text by drawing out the absurdities of the narrative.
A Response to ‘Every Thought I’ve Ever Had: Contemplating the Origin of the Sun’
Veteran playwright Leow Puay Tin is intrigued by the methods used by a trio of young performance makers to sustain a 12-hour performance.
A Gap in the Telling: Review of Virgin Labfest 17
While acknowledging the value of art in addressing national trauma, Pristine de Leon raises questions about the limits, and ethics of representation on stage.
Careening Into “The Milk of Dreams”: Southeast Asia at the 59th Venice Biennale
While the stated theme of the Biennale is to challenge the hegemony of the West, Nicole Wong finds that the spaces created for these interventions to happen struggles against the behemoth of the Biennale itself.
Ilham Art Show 2022: An Introspection Into What Was
From technological frustrations to climate catastrophes to queer representation, the Ilham Art Show has it all. Mira Sharon untangles the pieces which prize on the themes of family, love and loss.
Ke Mana Tumpahnya Tuah… Kalau Tidak Ke Hati
Dalam dunia filem, terdapat pelbagai canggah dan cabang yang membuatkan filem tersebut menarik. Daniyal Kadir meluahkan perspektifnya tentang filem “Spilt Gravy” dengan tumpangan pendapat berkaitan penapisan filem.
Where Flows Blessings but to the Heart
Daniyal Kadir is moved by the long awaited Jit Murad film, “Spilt Gravy” directed by Zahim Albakri.
project SALOME: A Shared Silhouette, Redressed
Rebecca G. is moved by director Ong Keng Sen’s project: SALOME which explores themes of reclamation, transformation, and perception.
Remotes X Quantum: Daring Collaboration Defies Cohesion
Remotes x Quantum, a Singapore-Philippines collaboration, is a daring, experimental work that never quite attains cohesion, which Jennifer Anne Champion finds is on-brand for SIFA 2022’s experimental nature. This performance is a part of the Singapore International Festival of the Arts.
MEPAAN: The Air Bandung Conundrum
Dr Shahril Salleh reflects on the challenges and rewards of intercultural collaboration in the Singapore Festival of the Arts 2022’s opening show, MEPAAN, using a beloved local drink as an analogy.
Podcast 104: Tartuffe: The Imposter
Critics Matthew Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia discuss Wild Rice’s bold adaptation of Tartuffe: The Imposter by Molière in the latest ArtsEquator Theatre Podcast. In this latest ArtsEquator Theatre Podcast, Matthew Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia discuss the recent production, Tartuffe: The Imposter, written by Molière and presented by Wild Rice. The cast …
Podcast 103: The Glass Menagerie
Classic play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams gets the Pangdemonium treatment. Critics Matthew Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia discuss more in the latest ArtsEquator Theatre Podcast. In this latest ArtsEquator Theatre Podcast, Matthew Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia discuss the recent production The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams and presented by …
Dalam Southeast Asia: At Home in the World
Alex Foo reviews the exhibition The Tailors and the Mannequins, featuring works by Singaporean artist Chen Cheng Mei and Cambodian artist You Khin. The exhibition is part of Dalam Southeast Asia, National Gallery Singapore’s new space that presents perspectives from territorial Southeast Asia, aiming to spotlight lesser-known narratives in the region. Midway through the journey …
RED LINES: 60 Global Cartoonists Talk Fear And Favour
“If satire is so toothless, then why are cartoonists so often badly bitten?” Ann Lee reviews RED LINES: Political Cartoons and the Struggle Against Censorship by Cherian George and Sonny Liew. The distribution of this book, which examines the boundaries of free speech, has been banned by the Singapore government under its “Undesirable Publications Act”. …
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Schooled by Singapore Youth Theatre: Teens Tell It Like It Is
Azura Farid reviews Schooled, the play about the concerns of young people devised by the inaugural batch of the Singapore Youth Theatre ensemble, Wild Rice’s educational programme for youths aged 13-17 years old. The piece was first staged in 2020, and puts youths centrestage to be listened to by the adults, for once. As I …
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Podcast 101: M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2022
ArtsEquator’s theatre podcast is back in 2022, with critics Lee Shu Yu, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia in a post-show conversation about three productions at M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2022: The Essential Playlist by The Second Breakfast Company (Singapore), Being: 息在 by 微 Wei Collective and Collaborators (Singapore) and OK Land by Circle Theatre (Thailand). This episode is part of …
Witnessing is political: Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring
A new collection of poems and essays bears witness to the bravery of ordinary citizens since the brutal military coupe of Feb 2021 in Myanmar.
UNHEARD: Hearing Singapore women composers loud and clear
In the notoriously male-dominated classical music sphere, seven Singaporean women composers take centre-stage. “When do women get to be heard for who we are?” That was the question raised by Rachel Lim, a Singaporean soprano and UNHEARD’s founder at the start of the concert. Lim started the UNHEARD concert series back in 2019 in Boston …
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Witnessing is political: Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring
A new collection of poems and essays bears witness to the bravery of ordinary citizens since the brutal military coupe of Feb 2021 in Myanmar.
re:walk Telok Ayer: Not so secret walks hidden in plain sight
A walk in Telok Ayer becomes a journey that spans hidden pasts and new futures. There has been no shortage of art walks happening in Singapore. My fellow writers Vithya Subramaniam (who has practically turned researching about walks into an art) and Dia Hakim wrote about it here and here for ArtsEquator. I myself was …
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Screen. Shot. at M1 Fringe 2022: Starve a fire, feed a flame
Rebecca G. reviews Bound Theatre’s newest work, which explores the darker elements of our always-connected lives : cancel culture, fake news, and modified behaviours, in an interactive performance that involved the audience to varying degrees of success. Our journey into the all-too-real world of Screen. Shot. starts before any audience member has even stepped foot …
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Singapore Art Week 2022: Returning to form, not FOMO
The Singapore Art Week (SAW) officially runs from 14th to 23rd January 2022. With over 130 physical and online events running across the island, it is a mammoth task to cover all the offerings available. Nevertheless, here are four shows – big and indie – that caught my eye. Hawker! Hawker! 13 collaborators from Singapore, …
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