![State of Motion 2021: [Alternate / Opt] Realities](../uploads/event/2011250038c615e0ae04734814a526609f71cd6f97_360.jpg)
- WHEN
- 20 January – 21 February 2021
- VENUE
-
Marina One, 7 Straits View (go to Google maps)
- OPENING HOURS
- Daily, 12pm – 8pm
Closed on PH - ADMISSION
- Free Admission
- WEBSITE
- http://www.stateofmotion.sg
The sixth edition of the multidisciplinary series, State of Motion 2021: [Alternate / Opt] Realities explores our visually engineered futures as conjured up by the science fiction genre and the magical efficacy of its images.
Thinking through power relations and the prospect of a “Southeast Asian Futurism”, the event considers the genre's strategies as a vessel to speculate and spectacularise a time to come. As fictionalised sciences begin to actualise and a futuristic dystopia looms upon us amidst an ongoing global pandemic, how can we reflect upon this present time and chart the many courses that could exist in parallel to each other?
The title takes a cue from the function of the "Alt / Option" key on the keyboard which allows users to modify existing mechanical systems and command codes. By entangling the "Opt" into the familiar phrase of “Alternate Realities”, the possibilities of the optional, optimal and optical become visual pathways to thinking about realities beyond our own.
Curated by Syaheedah Iskandar and Thong Kay Wee.
Thinking through power relations and the prospect of a “Southeast Asian Futurism”, the event considers the genre's strategies as a vessel to speculate and spectacularise a time to come. As fictionalised sciences begin to actualise and a futuristic dystopia looms upon us amidst an ongoing global pandemic, how can we reflect upon this present time and chart the many courses that could exist in parallel to each other?
The title takes a cue from the function of the "Alt / Option" key on the keyboard which allows users to modify existing mechanical systems and command codes. By entangling the "Opt" into the familiar phrase of “Alternate Realities”, the possibilities of the optional, optimal and optical become visual pathways to thinking about realities beyond our own.
Curated by Syaheedah Iskandar and Thong Kay Wee.
Image courtesy of Asian Film Archive.
Film Programme
20 January – 21 February 2021, Various Timings, Level 3, Marina One & Level 3, Oldham Theatre, National Archives of Singapore
The SoM21: [Alternate / Opt] Realities film programme showcases a range of Singapore and Southeast Asian science fiction titles from the last 25 years. With the sci-fi genre often dominated by imaginations from more prevalent popular cultures, the programme allows audiences to experience sci-fi films through new vistas specific to the region’s localities, concerns and aspirations.
From metropolises to dystopian settings, time-travelers to alien encounters, and innovative technologies to sinister regimes, the usual tropes of the genre are adapted for local entertainment or built off in unexpected ways. As we immerse ourselves in these filmic simulations, one is encouraged to contemplate the conditions of Southeast Asia in different timelines and reorient our bearings about the histories of the future.
Featuring Films By:
Aditya Assarat
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Aziz M. Osman
Chulayarnnon Siriphol
Daniel Hui
Jet Leyco
Kuo Jian Hong
Lav Diaz
Lawrence Lek
Mamat Khalid
Mattie Do
Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh
Randy Korompis
Tan Bee Thiam
Truong Minh Quý
Wisit Sasanatieng
Yosep Anggi Noen
Imaging and Imaginations: Artists' Talks Session 1
30 January 2021, 2pm, Online via AFA's FB page
Speakers:
Trisha Baga (USA)
Riar Rizaldi (Indonesia)
Tulapop Saenjaroen (Thailand)
Moderated by Thong Kay Wee, Co-Curator of SoM21
Featuring the exhibiting artists from State of Motion 2021: [Alternate/Opt] Realities, these two sessions will discuss the sensory mechanics relating to their works for the exhibition and the role of science-fiction as integrated into their art-making practices. In thinking about the potentiality of harnessing audio-visual technology as a magical tool, what new questions engender their roles in the world(s) we build? How can we think about these technologies beyond linear narratives and visual-dependent tendencies?
Imaging and Imaginations: Artists' Talks Session 2
31 January 2021, 2pm, Online via AFA's FB page
Speakers:
bani haykal (Singapore)
Natasha Tontey (Indonesia)
Phuong Linh Ngyuen (Vietnam)
Moderated by Syaheedah Iskandar, Co-Curator of SoM21
Featuring the exhibiting artists from State of Motion 2021: [Alternate/Opt] Realities, these two sessions will discuss the sensory mechanics relating to their works for the exhibition and the role of science-fiction as integrated into their art-making practices. In thinking about the potentiality of harnessing audio-visual technology as a magical tool, what new questions engender their roles in the world(s) we build? How can we think about these technologies beyond linear narratives and visual-dependent tendencies?
Platforms, Accidentally: Panel Discussion
13 February 2021, 2pm, Online via AFA's FB page
Moderated by Jing Yi Teo, Lead, Incubator Programme, so-far
In view and preparation for so-far's upcoming Issue 4: Platforms, the panel discussion intends to probe how everything from online marketplaces to art exhibitions has become a "platform". Social media platforms have been at the centre of extensive criticism, but the wider "platformization" of processes, products and services accelerated by the pandemic has also created shifts within the technical infrastructure in which we live and work. The result is a flurry of accidental platforms — the indeliberate uptake by a completely new industry such as live-stream gaming platforms being used by musicians, or age-old formats like global fashion weeks reinvented as digital platforms. With a multi-disciplinary panel of speakers representing the bridge-building between industries that so-far attain to, we will deep-dive into the language, circulation and trajectories of platforms that shape our futures.
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, 1 Straits Boulevard, #11-01
22 January – 28 March 2021
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre presents Moo Moo PARK, Asia’s first Drive-Through Exhibition, in partnership with The MeshMinds Foundation. Blending art and technology, we celebrate the Year of the Ox with a special focus on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road, #02-02A
23 – 31 January 2021
Following its successful debut at SAW 2020, YH Conservation returns with another workshop series. In this series, more topics on art conservation will be shared including case studies of past projects. There will be hands-on sessions introducing conservation techniques and open studios providing rare access for art collectors and enthusiasts alike to see conservators at work.
Art Porters Gallery, 64 Spottiswoode Park Road
12 January – 14 March 2021
For his first solo exhibition, Yip Yew Chong's artworks make it to the gallery setting! The public can now bring home snippets of his universe, experience nostalgic emotions and lingering impressions of the senses.
Gajah Gallery, Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road, #03-04
20 January – 14 February 2021
Gajah Gallery presents a major solo exhibition for Bali-based American artist, Ashley Bickerton, featuring works that examine his complex position as both observer and participator on the tourist-paradise of Bali.
