*That’s what I gathered– but think most of the audience were a little confused as to what it was all about. When I said “on ‘almost’ all fours” – they used crutches as supports to hold themselves up to walk on all fours.
Then second act however got the blood pulsing. It was an extraordinary act of balance and full body control as the performers challenged gravity by carrying out their performance as they balanced themselves on their hands. The music was equally as exhilarating and complimented the whole act. At this point you could just feel the air fill with an electric charge of excitement, as the performers balance themselves not only on stilts, but at times just supporting their entire body weight on one hand.
*Imagine doing one hand stands? Let’s just say I have new fitness goals after that.
The final act however is purely breath taking. What can be only interpreted as a Sigmud Freud’s ‘Dreams and the world in-between’, this act had me on the edge of my seat. It was drama, theatre and areal-acrobatics rolled into one. The light play and music was simply stunning. It was one of the best performances out of the many that were showcased this year at GTF.
Lee Lee Nam, a maestro at digital art from Korea, mesmerised his audiences with moving works of art – Good Morning Digital. He’s truly a master of craft as he takes older works of art, such as the works of Guo Xi’s Early Spring, and gives it a breath of life by transforms them into moving masterpieces that ties to the current world we live in. No matter how old you may be, these digital artworks will surely mesmerise you on your first glance.
Words escape me as to how I can describe his work – you have to see it to understand it and appreciate it.
*In-true Wanderosh fashion – I watched each installation on the first run, before taking pictures on the second run and video on the third. I was meant to be there for 30 minutes but ended up staying for over an hour!
His paintings depict the history of not only his life and the people around him but also the history of Cambodia while he was alive. He manages to capture each scene of his paintings with a child like fondness - a memory framed in time. His style of painting has not much depth of field, which makes them unique in their own right and his child like perspective of the environment keeps the composition light – even though the subject matter has a serious note to it. I would say his portraits of people are his crowning glory as he has mastered the art of capturing expression.
*Base2 is a private art gallery based at Gurney 8, on Gurney Drive. The exhibition is still on till end of September so if you’d like to visit you would have to ring for an appointment – Adrian Jones (+6012 275 7780)
Having an exhibition scattered around town, is a perfect way of exploring George Town – and with a purpose. Sometimes, even as a local, you’d normally be trapped to visiting the usual run-of-the-mill tourist spots. But Obscura’s use of in-door and out-door spaces would take you on a tour of Penang to places that are hardly on the ‘must see’ tourist list.
The one exhibition that resonates most with me, personally, is the Everyday Africa project. These images show what day-to-day life is like in Africa – the African continent is generally depicted as civil-warn-torn region and the images seen, if not that of safari animals, is usually of the wars and its after affects. But these images show a different and peaceful, if not happy, day-to-day life of people in Africa.
The two week long photography exhibition not only has slides shows and photography installations but also run master classes. If you’re a budding photographer and would like to take your skill up to the next level, these master classes are perfect, as you’d be learning from the industry’s best.
*For more information on these, visit their website and plan your calendar for next year’s Obscura Festival in George Town, Penang.
View the gallery for more photographs.