Lucy Davis, Alfian Sa'at, Tini Aliman & Zachary Chan

Talking in Trees (Like Shadows Through Leaves) Part 1, 2022

Singapore Biennale 2022 Commission

Talking in Trees (Like Shadows Through Leaves) Part 1 is an immersive meditative installation that stems from an essay written by Alfian Sa’at, first published in Issue 54 of Antennae in 2021. Entitled “Talking in Trees,” Sa’at explores the persistent presence of plant-related words in the Malay language and reveals the inherent interspecies relations between plants and humans. Responding to and attempting to translate this text into a visual experience, Lucy Davis and Zachary Chan co-conceptualised a space for deep listening and contemplation through the dynamic use of shadow puppetry and moving lights. Tini Aliman interlaces the visual experience with her sound and audio composition, which echoes within the installation.

The installation was made possible with kinetic lights by Yang Jie; patchwork screen design by Alysha Rahmat Shah; embroidery by Elina Priha; programming expertise by Eswaran from Tying; and bird calls courtesy of xeno-canto.org, with field recordings by Lim Yin Hien, Paul Farrell, Bo Shungi, Rick Shears and Alice Burdock.

BIO
Lucy Davis (b. 1970) is a visual artist, art writer and founder of the collaborative and transdisciplinary Migrant Ecologies Projects. Migrant Ecologies Projects bring together daughters of woodcutters, seed gatherers, memory trackers and song mappers, in processes that move between salvaging and speculation. Davis is currently Professor of Artistic Practices in Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art (ViCCA) at Aalto University, Finland where she serves as Deputy Head of the major. Davis was a founding member of the School of Art, Design & Media, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore from 2005–2016. Her work has been featured in numerous world festivals, biennales, museums and residency programmes. Davis has also contributed to numerous publications and has produced several artist’s books. She currently lives and works in Finland.

Alfian Sa’at (b. 1977) is the Resident Playwright of Wild Rice. His published works include three collections of poetry, One Fierce Hour, A History of Amnesia and The Invisible Manuscript; a collection of short stories, Corridor; a collection of flash fiction, Malay Sketches; three collections of plays as well as the published play Cooling Off Day. He is also the co-artistic director of the biennial Singapore Theatre Festival. He currently lives and works in Singapore.

Tini Aliman (b. 1980) is a sound artist,d designer, field recordist and audio engineer who works at the intersection of theatre and film sound design, live sound art performance, installation and collaborative projects. Her research interests include but are not limited to forest networks, spatial acoustics, bio-music and the variables of data translations via biodata sonification. She has been involved in projects and exhibitions across Asia Pacific and Europe. She currently lives and works in Singapore.

Zachary Chan (b. 1990) is a graphic designer, gamelan musician, sound designer, composer and visual artist. He co-founded the design studio CROP with an aim to work with artists and cultural institutions. His artistic practice is rooted in collaboration, and he regularly presents work together with The Migrant Ecologies Projects, Zarina Muhammad and Joel Tan, Rosemainy Buang and gamelan ensemble Singa Nglaras. He currently lives and works in Singapore.

INFORMATION

Talking in Trees (Like Shadows Through Leaves) Part 1. 2022. In-process experimental book project comprising an original essay; an interactive sound composition; paper puppets; drawings; collage comprised of prints of fragments of a 1930s teak bed, transparencies of photographs of shadows of leaves on walls of demolished buildings in Tanglin Halt, Singapore; ink; charcoal; kinetic lights; patchwork screen; embroidered text; bamboo; shadows. Dimensions variable.