S’pore theatre-maker among 13 creative talents to showcase works at Tokyo exhibition

SINGAPORE — Theatre-maker Irfan Kasban will be featuring his play about a Japanese deity who tries to become a tourist after his sacred site turned into a tourist site.

Titled KAMI / (Us / God), the play draws inspiration from both Japanese culture and Sufi text. It will be part of the Singapore: Inside Out (SG:IO) exhibition which will be held in Tokyo for the first time.

Irfan is among 13 creative talents from Singapore who are in Tokyo this weekend to showcase their works, cutting across disciplines such as design, music, fashion, sound, and visual arts. Organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the ongoing three-day exhibition at Bank Gallery, an architectural space situated within the Tokyo’s Omotesando district ends Sunday (Aug 27).

The deity in Irfan’s play appears as a reflection of the people who seek him, and he becomes unsure of what image to put on after his sacred site is turned into a tourist attraction. He then decides to travel to understand what it means to be a tourist.

“I gathered inspiration from the Sufi text, Conference of the Birds by Farid ud-Din Attar. (There is) also a play on the word ‘Kami’ which in Malay means ‘us’, and in Japanese means ‘God’,” said Irfan, who is the former Associate Artistic Director of Teater Ekamatra, local contemporary Malay theatre company, and is also performing in the piece.

The theme for this year’s edition explores the cultural trends arising from the shift towards a digital urban age.

Award winning sound and media artist Zul Mahmod, meanwhile, has collaborated with Japanese creative studio Plantica to create a floral art installation, in response to his composition of recordings of nature and city soundscape in Singapore, emitting from three geodesic domes.

Creative Director for this Tokyo edition of SG:IO Clara Yee believes the showcase uses creative language to communicate with the world.

The multi-disciplinary designer and co-founder of nomadic creative studio, in the wild, said: “Singapore has perhaps been (accustomed) to using economic and political languages to communicate with the world, and it is equally important for us to use the cultural and creative language that is inherent in us.”

“Even with the previous edition, STB was always interested in seeding collaborative efforts between the creatives of (partner) cities, as a way to engage them in deeper conversations. My team and I agree that in order to be a part of a global cultural conversation, we need to have a dialogue with others, not just a show and tell,” Yee added.

According to Carrie Kwik, STB’s executive director of arts, entertainment and tourism concept development, the opportunities for the creatives involved “extend beyond the showcase”.

“Through Singapore: Inside Out, our talents receive international exposure, and have the opportunity to collaborate/interact with some of the prominent creative practitioners in each city, thereby opening new doors of opportunities in the near future,” she added.

She cited Singaporean indie-pop quartet Take Two as an example. The group made connections with a Chinese agent after SG:IO Beijing’s SGMUSO live showcase, and thereafter went on a multi-city China tour from Dec 31, 2015 to Jan 4 last year.

“We are confident that this year’s showcase will continue to spark future conversations and collaborations for our creative talents, as well as attract those who will be visiting the showcase to check out Singapore’s creative scene for themselves,” said Kwik.

The SG:IO is an international exhibition that travels to cities around the world in an effort to showcase Singapore creative talent through artistic collaborations between the two featured cities.

A previous edition in 2015 travelled to Beijing, London, New York before returning to Singapore.

In November, the SG:IO will make its way to Sydney, which will be helmed by creative director Randy Chan, the Principal Architect at Zarch Collaboratives, who is best known as festival curator for iLight Marina Bay.

The Sydney showcase will include a line-up of distinguished talents such as former Singapore’s National Arts Council Young Artist Award winners Donna Ong and Ezzam Rahman, award winning poet and co-founder of literary non-profit Sing Lit Station, Joshua Ip and first Singaporean filmmaker to win at the Sundance Film Festival, Kirsten Tan.