Under the Skin showcases the experimental practices of George Chua, Nina Djekicì, and Noor Effendy Ibrahim, three artists who engage with sound, bodily movements, and performance to examine contemporary body and identity politics. In response to the theme of Proposals for Novel Ways of Being, the artists have been commissioned to produce new work reflecting their own experiences of the sudden uncertainty and loss of normalcy during the global COVID-19 pandemic: abrupt shifts in social interaction and daily routines, confinement and physical limitations, adjustments, and reorientations to relationships. As we grapple with the uncertainties of the post-pandemic future, this radical moment of instability also calls upon us to reclaim our personal and collective consciousness, to nurture the resilience of our body and soul. How does a body compose itself and develop new vocabularies for articulation? What are the sensorial and corporeal sensibilities of tomorrow?

The performative works will be cinematically translated into the medium of video by Singapore artist, filmmaker and cinematographer Russell Morton, and their videos presented online.

Nina Djekić, Under the Skin, 2020. Image courtesy of the artist.