INSIDE - Programme Three

The third programme in this year’s Field Experiments pays special attention to the ways in which animation can be a space for artists to work through new and tentative ideas. These artists often dabble in animation, and do not work exclusively with it. The Inside segment will be projected in a double void space to provoke thought about animation as a form through a porous space, moving such works consciously out of the “black box” of cinema.

This anthology will be screened every Saturday and Sunday during the festival at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium Foyer for free. It will be screened on a loop and at the top of every hour from 11am to 7.30pm.

There will be a post-screening dialogue with Indonesian artist and curator Rizki Lazuardi in the Auditorium Foyer on Sunday 17 July, 5.30 pm.


Please note that digital versions of films originally on celluloid are being used in these screenings. While efforts were made to show these films in the highest resolution possible, in some cases this is lower than ideal as the original films could not be located to scan them at a higher resolution. Nevertheless, we decided to retain these works in the programme to allow audiences to view them, and also to call attention to the need to archive films in the region particularly films which are short and experimental. The state condition of the films in this programme attests to the fragility of the moving image and their unintended scarcity.

SERIGALA MILITIA

By Tromarama

Indonesia | No dialogue | 2006 | 4 min 22 sec | Rating TBA

An early stop-motion animation work inspired by the music of Jakarta-based rock band Seringal, this film was made using 400 woodcut plywood boards.

director

Tromarama is an art collective founded in 2006 by Febie Babyrose, Herbert Hans and Ruddy Hatumena. Their projects explore the interrelationship between the virtual and the physical world, and engage with the notion of hyperreality in the digital age. Additionally, their works often combine video, installations, computer programming and public participation depicting the influence of digital media on society’s perception of their surroundings. They live and work between Jakarta and Bandung.

DISORDER IS BEAUTIFUL

By Nguyen Hoang Giang

Vietnam | No dialogue | 2013 | 2 min | Exempted from classification

The film starts with images of a block of apartments, which symbolise the monotony of Vietnamese architecture before the Doi moi (or Renovation) period in Vietnam. In apartment blocks, public living and individual identity exist side by side, and the differences between Soviet-era and capitalist architecture are most apparent. As Vietnam’s economy boomed in the 1990s, people living in public apartments began to modify their rooms. The result is a mixture of apartments that are similar, but essentially different. Adding diversity and individuality to the city was a way for people to move on from the hardship of the pre-Doi moi era.

 

Nguyen Hoang Giang (b. 1989, Vietnam) lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City. His multimedia works address the social and cultural impact of new technologies. Nguyen’s interests lie in exploring the failures in the relationship between humans and machines, specifically in the process of learning. His works have been shown internationally at various exhibitions, residencies, galleries, and museums such as Museo del ‘900 (Italy), Asian Culture Complex (South Korea), Galerie Nord/Kunstverein Tiergarten (Denmark), ViaFarini (Italy), MartinGoya Business (China), Galerie Quynh (Vietnam), Nha San Collective (Vietnam). He also runs curatorial and educational projects such as Net Fluxists (2021) and In_ur_scr! (2016). He has been a lecturer in the Digital Media department at RMIT University Vietnam since 2020.

AN NHIÊN/ LIGHT-BEING

By Nguyen Hoang Giang

Vietnam | No dialogue | 2015 | 3 min 24 sec | Exempted from classification

Through a series of playful hand-drawn sequences, filmmaker Nguyen Hoang Giang explores the forms and functions of the human figure, immersing us in the essence of An Nhien or Light-Being—the sensation of natural calmness or tranquillity.

 

Nguyen Hoang Giang (b. 1989, Vietnam) lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City. His multimedia works address the social and cultural impact of new technologies. Nguyen’s interests lie in exploring the failures in the relationship between humans and machines, specifically in the process of learning. His works have been shown internationally at various exhibitions, residencies, galleries, and museums such as Museo del ‘900 (Italy), Asian Culture Complex (South Korea), Galerie Nord/Kunstverein Tiergarten (Denmark), ViaFarini (Italy), MartinGoya Business (China), Galerie Quynh (Vietnam), Nha San Collective (Vietnam). He also runs curatorial and educational projects such as Net Fluxists (2021) and In_ur_scr! (2016). He has been a lecturer in the Digital Media department at RMIT University Vietnam since 2020.

PORES OF AN ELLIPSIS

By Xuan Ha

Vietnam | Silent | 2016 | 1 min |

Rating TBA

Everything is born out of a hole, or a crack. Deep within ourselves are interrupted conversations that have neither ending nor beginning. In this film, they take root and sprout from the pores of hairs, of brows, and the deepest parts of ourselves.

Xuan Ha (b. 1993, Vietnam) is a visual and multimedia artist who lives and works in Danang, and whose practice focuses on the socio-cultural changes in her home region of Central Vietnam. The themes explored in her body of work stem from the oppositions between herself and the dizzying changes that occur in her surroundings. Through various experimentations with materials and space, Xuan Ha uses the fragments of everyday life and a wide range of artistic media—including painting, animation, video, sculpture and installation—to present unrealistic scenarios that gradually form their own narratives.

GRANDMADEADXH’S MOLE COSMOS

By Xuan Ha

Vietnam | Silent | 2017 | 1 min | PG

In another universe, humanity grows from seeds, which multiply like microscopic bacteria. As lonely seeds, they then undergo a long process of living and growing up in order to understand what their selves are like amidst this crowded cosmos.

This is a microscopic world: a ‘mole cosmos.’

Xuan Ha (b. 1993, Vietnam) is a visual and multimedia artist who lives and works in Danang, and whose practice focuses on the socio-cultural changes in her home region of Central Vietnam. The themes explored in her body of work stem from the oppositions between herself and the dizzying changes that occur in her surroundings. Through various experimentations with materials and space, Xuan Ha uses the fragments of everyday life and a wide range of artistic media—including painting, animation, video, sculpture and installation—to present unrealistic scenarios that gradually form their own narratives.

PRET

By Firman Widyasmara

Indonesia | No dialogue | 2014 | 3 min 43 sec | PG

“Pret” is a meaningless word or sound that can be either an impolite exclamation, a denial, or a sound that sounds like a fart. In this short film, all hell breaks loose when everyone fights for the right to sit in the noble chair.

 

Firman Widyasmara (b. 1977, Indonesia) is the founder of Lanting, a professional collective focusing on 2D and stop-motion animation, illustration, graphic design, creative consulting, and audio production. He started Lanting in 2007 after going through various transformations through the years. Before making films, he was a bank analyst, an illustrator, a musician, and a socio-political student.

THE SOMNAMBULIST

By Victor Balanon

Philippines | Silent | 2013 | 5 min |

Rating TBA

The Somnambulist is an animated video loop with a central figure that has been rotoscoped from a scene in Tarkovsky’s Zerkalo and placed into an endless passageway, resulting in a repetitive and hypnotic scene. This video is part of a larger project titled Losing the Plot on the Grand Scheme of Things. In this project, images from films, historical photo journals, and found pictures from the Internet and mass media are archived based on their external appearance. The project is an extension of the artist’s examination of the nature of image-making and image consumption, and how they relate to man’s collective memory and representation of reality. The Somnambulist has been presented at different galleries and art fairs in Singapore and the Philippines from 2013 to 2014.

 

Victor Balanon (b. 1972, Philippines) is a self-taught artist based in Quezon City. He intended to study dentistry, but left school in order to pursue his interest in art. He later studied film and animation at the Mowelfund Film Institute in Manila. Balanon has worked as an illustrator creating storyboards, album covers and posters for film, independent comics and alternative music labels and later as an animator for a major Japanese animation company. Keen on exploring alternative ways of artistic production, he has supported various local artist-run initiatives. He had his first solo exhibition in 2011 and has held more than 20 exhibitions to date. Currently, he co-organises a moving-image centered artist-run initiative called Lost Frames where programmes focus on providing platforms for screening video works, discussions and artist talks.

WHAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

By Ryan Ben Lee

Singapore | Silent | 2016 | 1 min | Exempted from classification

What Was Left Behind was a pop-up site-specific exhibition at Waterloo Centre in 2016. This series of GIFs—which were originally displayed as an installation of giant printed QR codes—have been adapted for a gallery setting with additional sound design. Discarded objects left behind by residents, vendors and shop owners are brought to life after hours through animated GIFs, re-engaging viewers with a space within the Singapore arts district that is often forgotten. What Was Left Behind was a pop-up site-specific exhibition at Waterloo Centre in 2016. This series of GIFs—which were originally displayed as an installation of giant printed QR codes—have been adapted for a gallery setting with additional sound design. Discarded objects left behind by residents, vendors and shop owners are brought to life after hours through animated GIFs, re-engaging viewers with a space within the Singapore arts district that is often forgotten.

 

Ryan Ben Lee (b. 1997, Singapore) is a moving image artist and animator based in Singapore. He has presented his animated installations for local Singapore museums such as National Gallery Singapore, as well as independent galleries like Supernormal and DECK. He has screened his animated films in festivals, including Singapore Shorts (2018), KLEXFilmFest (2018), Ottawa International Animation Festival (2019) and Fest Anča (2021) and Fuse Festival (2022). As an independent animator, he has been commissioned to create animated projects for Singapore design studios like Atelier HOKO for the Venice Design Biennale (2021), and Currency Design for Singapore Art Book Fair (2021).

SUBIDA

By Chen Kunyi

Singapore | No dialogue | 2000 | 4 min | Rating TBA

stamp stamp stamp stamp stomp stamp stamp stamp stomp stamp stomp stamp stomp stamp stomp!

 

Chen Kunyi (b. 1970, Singapore) graduated from the Royal College of Art, UK in 2000 and worked on independent films, storyboarding, and television commercials in the UK until 2005. She is an artist who wears a few hats, but her preferred expression of her art is through animation films. She also teaches drawing and old-fashioned animation, does illustration and design work, and curates animation and video works.

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