Video Stage

Art Stage Singapore 2016 showcases again a diverse and exciting selection of video works from Asia.

Video art may still be below the radar of mainstream art, but the importance of this medium is growing steadily. The art form first came to be recognised as a medium of artistic expression in the late 1960s in Germany and the USA. One of its pioneers, Nam June Paik (Korea), explored this medium as early as 1963.

Subsequent technical advancements, and the arrival of digital technology in particular, have made video works more accessible to artists; some have even begun to explore it using mobile phones. Today, video art has established itself firmly worldwide as an exciting practice. No longer seen as ‘esoteric’, video art enjoys a large audience base and devoted collectors. There is even a TV cable station entirely devoted to it, aptly called ‘Souvenirs from Earth’.

The works selected for Video Stage are like a never-ending museum of contemporary video art.

JAKRAWAL NILTHAMRONG. Orchestra (2008). Presented by Numthong Gallery, Thailand.

Orchestra captures the dreams of employees in a textile factory in Thailand, during an age where tensions between workers and capital have presumably dissipated. Jakrawal is a film artist, and currently lives and works in Bangkok. The themes of his work often relate to Eastern philosophy in contemporary context and local history of specific environments. His most recent feature film “Vanishing Point” (2015) was premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam and won the festival top prize, Hivos Tiger Award.

Multiple Artists. Fifty Around 5, Singapore Edition “The Artist in Picture” series. Curated 2015, by Chi-Wen Huang. Presented by Chi-Wen Gallery, Taiwan.

Fifty around 5, Singapore Edition “The Artist in the Picture” focuses on single-channel video works by some of the most exciting contemporary Asian featuring themselves performing in the videos, each around 5 minutes long. Chi-Wen Huang studied Fine Arts from the National University of Tainan, Taiwan. After managing a gallery for six years, she moved to establish her own eponymous gallery in 2004 with a special focus on video art. She has identified and supported careers of numerous Taiwanese contemporary artists who regularly exhibit in important biennales, institutions and art fairs.

GREG PENN. Green Light Leak (2015). Presented by The Ferry Gallery, Thailand.

Green Light Leak (2015) explores all manner of techniques in awareness and methods of disrupting the cross talk in the brain between thought and perception. Greg Penn lives and works in Melbourne, obtaining a PhD from Deakin University, Melbourne, in 2015. His works cross the boundaries of photography and video, exploring the intricacies of cerebral functions and psychology. He has screened at numerous shows both in and outside Australia, the most recent being at FACT Artplayer, UK, in 2015.

SCOTT MORRISON. Plume (2015) and Tension Sketch (2015). Presented by The Ferry Gallery, Thailand.

Plume (2015) and Tension Sketch (2015) are part of Morrison’s video art corpus which falls under what he has termed ‘Ballad(s) for Quiet Horizons’, intended to detail and further develop appreciation for Australia’s rural landscape. Scott Morrison is an Australian sound and video artist. His practice encompasses live performance, gallery installation and festival screenings with a focus on synergistic properties of the moving image. He has released work as limited editions with Room40 and shows regularly with both Screenspace and Beam Contemporary, Melbourne.

LAURA CARTHEW. Immortal Flower (2016). Presented by The Ferry Gallery, Thailand.

Immortal Flower (2016) fuses together historical symbology and Korean identity to reflect on the universal cycle of life and death through three mystical female flower characters which reference Korea’s national flower: the Mugunghwa (‘Immortal Flower’ in English). Laura Carthew is an interdisciplinary visual artist working primarily with video and photography. Her practice investigates rituals, memorialisation and choreography within both cultural and spiritual practices. She has held solo and group exhibitions both inside and outside of Australia, as well as mentorship and residency with South Korean artist Yeondoo Jung in 2014 and 2015.

NATIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART (NTU CCA) – Singapore. Multiple artists. VeloCity exhibition. Curated 2016, by Visiting Research Fellow Marc Glöde and Visiting Associate Professor Mark Nash.

This programme of video works curated by NTU CCA Visiting Research Fellow Marc Glöde and NTU CCA Visiting Associate Professor Mark Nash centres around the rapid changes of urban environments and its impact on communal life. The presented video/films explore different features of the urban ranging from built environments to architecture(s) to rural zones within cities. VeloCity refers to the vast changes in urban planning and development and how communities transform in different parts of the world.

Artists and works featured include:

Ute Adamczewski. La Cite Radieuse Chinoise (2015). 33 minutes.

Louidgi Beltrame. Energodar (2010). 38 minutes.

Dionisio González. Pauliceia Desvairada (2004). 20 minutes.

Taweewit Kijtanasoonthorn Constructive (2011). 9 minutes approx.

Taweewit Kijtanasoonthorn Transformation (2012). 3 minutes approx.

Cocoy Lumbao. Index [Elevated Train] (2007). 11 minutes.

Taiki Sakpisit. Whispering Ghosts (2008). 13 minutes.

Tintin Wulia Everything´s OK (2003). 4 minutes approx.