Living in Penang during the month-long George Town Festival made all my weekends in August, packed with activities. Don’t think one weekend would ever be enough as there was just too much to do and see. As I’ve mentioned in my earlier post, George Town Festival is a yearly event that brings artist around Asia, if not the globe, together to showcase their work and crafts.
One of the many Obscura exhibition locations - Hin Bus Depot.
As George Town Festival (GTF) closes its curtain for the year, it went out with a bang. Come every weekend, during the festival, Dewan Sri Penang would put on a play, dance or music show. Among the list of acts this year, the closing show Triptyque by Canadian-based Les 7 doigts de la main, was by far one of the best performances I’ve seen so far. A three-part act that has drama, areal-acrobatics and spectacle all rolled into one.
Everyday Africa curated by Peter di Campo.
The first act, was rather slow and ambiguous – two people on stage, walking on ‘almost’ all fours that can be interpreted to represent animals. If you were to dissect it further think it could be translated as a relationship between two people that have been bounded, but slowly opening up to a conversation.
*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.
*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.
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Lee Lee Nam's Comic screen.
Apart from the performance, the art exhibitions this year was nothing short of a showstopper. As always, exhibition and art spaces were distributed throughout George Town as well as Penang. The festival, growing larger each year, meant more space is need and it was natural to have some exhibitions outside out the George Town district.
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!
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!
As I made my way through the list of exhibitions, I found a rather intriguing exhibition showcasing the works of a Cambodian artist – Svay Ken. Svay Ken is a self-taught painter, depicting his own style and composition based on his everyday life and observations. He worked as a waiter for years, before and after the Khmer regime, before turning to art. What started out as a way to make ends meet, turned out to be a fruitful path of passion.
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)
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)
Allure No.3 by Christine Das.
Further out from George Town lies Straits Quay where a different type of art went on exhibition. Fine brush strokes coupled with vivid play of colours, Christine Das’ ‘Conversations @50’ is a display of her finest yet. Starting off as a graphic designer she dabbled in fine art as a hobby before finally taking the plunge 10 years ago. Her theme centres around mother nature and her animals – each animal in these series depict various emotions. The use of dual colour tones and graphic like ‘colour segmentation’, makes one awe in wonder.
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.
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.
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Obscura, being in its 4th year running at GTF, is one festival that brings photographers from around Asia, and the globe, together sharing their work, their experiences and doing portfolio reviews. This year’s collection is on a larger scale with 11 installations spanning across 6 locations.
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.
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.
These are just a fraction of the highlights of GTF. There is just so much going on that it can get a little overwhelming trying to go to them all – especially if you only have the weekends to spare like myself. Music, theatre, art performances, street art, exhibitions right through to installations, there are a variety to pick and choose from. So before you head down to Penang for George Town Festival, make sure to do your research and plan well.
View the gallery for more photographs.
View the gallery for more photographs.
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