20/20 Fission: Arts Fission’s 20-year experiment in arts fusion

Back in 1994, an interesting experiment took place. Not in the realm of science, but art. What happens when you fuse the ideas of a respected dance artist and an equally respected visual artist? As it turned out, you get something called Arts Fission.

Two decades later, this unique creation spearheaded by Cultural Medallion recipient Angela Liong and multi-disciplinary artist S Chandrasekaran has evolved into Singapore’s most established contemporary dance company. And at the end of the month, it will be celebrating its anniversary with Make It New, a 10-day affair that includes site-specific performances, a dance-film screening and an exhibition at the National Design Centre, as well as talks and discussions at The Arts House and the Library@Esplanade.

A DADA EXERCISE

To think it all started with a “what if” — and a playful flip of the dictionary.

“That was where (we found) the word ‘fission’ — not fusion, not frisson. It was a Dada exercise,” joked artistic director Liong, who recalled how the two of them tried to get this new group off the ground. “We liked the idea that it comes from a general core but, when it splits, all the individual atoms retain their identity.”

The 64-year-old had been manning the fort at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ dance department, where she had met Chandrasekaran, who worked at its Fine Art department. The latter, who was part of the seminal contemporary art group show Trimurti, was also practising performance arts and keen on the collaboration.

“It was around that time that installation art and mixed media were picking up in Singapore. She asked me for workshops for classes and we eventually thought it was a good time to explore our differences,” said the 65-year-old artist.

And explore they did — in a big way. The pair debuted with Mahabharata — A Grain Of Rice at the Festival Of Asian Performing Arts in 1995, a rice-themed multimedia production that combined dance with installation (of rice cookers) and ritualistic performances (audiences partook in a food post-show). The following year, Arts Fission took over The Substation with yet another multimedia production titled Flower Eaters, which employed mirrors, featured a sand installation, and had dancers positioned and performing like they were in a “conveyor belt” around the audience.

“It was really a multi-arts, multi-sensory experience at that time,” recalled Liong, who added that cross-disciplinary work was “almost non-existent” in dance. “Most dance companies were very traditional or conventional in the sense that they were presenting performances onstage.”

For Chandrasekaran, it was an interesting process as well. “I was a performance artist and not interested in choreographed movements, so I was more involved in introducing materials. My part was to push boundaries, in terms of stage design for example, or push dancers into dealing with the medium.”

SECOND WIND

The visual artist didn’t stay long though and, after the first few years, left to pursue his studies in India. The company had to take a backseat as Liong moved to handle bigger responsibilities as dean of performing arts at LASALLE College of the Arts.

The years 1999 and 2000 proved to be a turning point as Arts Fission got its second wind through an influx of members, such as Aaron Khek and Ix Wong (who would later form the collective Ah Hock and Peng Yu), Elysa Wendi and Scarlet Yu. They injected new energy and would eventually create works. Liong later quit her academic job and the company also moved to its new home at Cairnhill Arts Centre.

“Suddenly, we morphed. These people were not students at all, but were all looking for full-time work to engage in the arts. We were able to really work very regularly and rapidly — there was a show every three months,” said Liong. “The company members were very, very creative artists and weren’t interested only in dance but also in visual art, music and film.”

Former member Wendi, who debuted for the group in 1999 before eventually becoming associate artistic director in 2003, reckoned she had created four full-length pieces and 20 short ones in her decade-long involvement with Arts Fission. “That was the early formative period of my career. The company provided me with opportunities to collaborate with other artists from different disciplines and conceptually connect with other art forms and cultural practices,” she said.

Yu had taken part in more than 100 performances during her stint, beginning with one on the rooftop of Centennial Tower. “At that time, the performance was bold and the very first high-rise site-specific performance in Singapore,” she said.

Both would eventually leave the company to pursue different careers, although their links with Arts Fission continue to be strong — they will be taking part in the 20th anniversary celebrations on Jan 30 at the National Design Centre.

IT’S IN THE DNA

You could say Arts Fission is currently embarking on a third phase of sorts, as it continues to push through with its artistic collaborations, international shows, their now-trademark site-specific performances and recurring thematic preoccupations such as the environment and Asian cultures. There was also the not-so-small feat of Liong finally receiving a Cultural Medallion in 2009 for her efforts in dance.

But it has not been without hiccups. A couple of years ago, the group was in the news as it struggled to keep things together after the tightening of rules regarding the hiring of foreign workers — a particularly troublesome issue for a company with a majority of dancers who were foreigners.

“It was the only time I contemplated closing down. Thankfully, we didn’t,” recalled Liong.

Instead, she took it as a challenge and established an apprenticeship programme to lure more local dancers. And it seems to be paying off. While the group previously had only four to six members at any time, now it has eight, including two apprentices — and half of them are from Singapore. “We have a bumper crop of dancers. Right now, it’s a little insane for me,” she joked.

It’s not just a matter of performances. One of Arts Fission’s ongoing projects has been to discover uses for dance and movement to help the aged. It has since morphed into collaborations with neurologists from the Singapore General Hospital to help dementia patients and, last year, there were plans to develop a healthcare manual to be used at nursing homes and senior rehab centres.

“Some might say Arts Fission is turning into a community arts company. In the beginning, it bothered me a lot, but eventually, I said I was going to ignore that because we’re really doing meaningful work,” said Liong.

Meaningful — and totally in keeping with the Arts Fission DNA that she and Chandrasekaran had conceived. (Incidentally, he continues to collaborate with other performing arts folks and has also been looking at the intersections of life sciences and the arts, calling it Biological Arts Theatre.)

“When we started, we thought we should form some kind of collective to enable us to practise the kind of arts we like. I had no intention to do just the conventional kind of dance. I was very into cross-disciplinary arts because that kind of energy always intrigued and excited me,” said Liong. “If you ask me today what Arts Fission is about, I don’t know. It’s very fluid and not frozen into fossil. And I like that. That’s what keeps me going.”

Arts Fission’s Make It New runs from Jan 30 to Feb 8, various times, at the National Design Centre, Arts House and the Library@Esplanade. For more information, visit http://www.artsfission.org/. For our complete interview with Angela Liong, visit For Art’s Sake (http://tdy.sg/artssakeblog)