You and I

You and I, a project by Creative [SIN]ergy member Song-Ming Ang. This is a project where Son-Ming ask members of the public to write him a letter telling him something personal about themselves. In response to the contents of the letter, he will compile a CD-R mixtape and mail it to them. The more detailed and specific your letter is, the more he can personalise your mixtape.

Full details of the work here: www.circadiansongs.com

Sarah Cai's Tall Tales

Creative [SIN]ergy member, Sarah Cai showcased her recent work at her first solo exhibition in Warsaw, entitled Tall Tales. Staff from Cykloza were wonderful and kind in assisting to the success of the show. At the Vernissage, amidst beautiful accordion music played by a wedding musician, Sarah officially opened the exhibition with a speech and a short screening of her animations after. Visitors were treated to a spectrum of colours and mediums, as the works from one room to the other varied from gouache, silk-screen, to photography.

Text and photos courtesy of Sarah Cai.

SHOWCASE: Randy Yeo

Randy Yeo grew up in Little India, and was schooled as an ACS boy for 11 years. He then obtained a diploma in Visual Communication from Temasek Polytechnic in 2006. Spreads from his final year project “:O” were sent to Jilin College of the Arts, Changchun (China) for an exhibition.

In 2008, he moved to London to pursue a degree in Typography at London College of Communication (former London College of Printing). His book and sound installation “Visual Debates” was exhibited as part of the Modern Thoughts Exhibition at Battersea Gallery in July 2009.

Randy has an ardent interest in typography and the role it plays in the organization of information, and communication of ideas. One of his favourite quotes by Hamish Muir possibly manages to sum up a lot about him.

“I'm actually an untidy person. I'm not ordered at all. In some senses I have to use grids to bring some order to the chaos that's whirring around in my head.” - Hamish Muir

A self-confessed idealist, he believes (after much struggle) that graphic design can play a part in making this world a better place.

Randy is currently taking a year out of college—as part of the school’s curriculum—to undertake industry placements, freelance commissions, and also hopefully bring to life some of the ideas hiding at the back of his head.

Name: Randy Yeo
Location: London, UK
Website: www.smeek.net
Email: click here

Inspired by Water

Glass Sculptor - Mohyin Kwan and Pianist - Jonathan Ang recently performed at 1 of nine a charity fundraiser event organised by Creative [SIN]ergy. This event was in aid of Breast Cancer Care. They performed an experimental piece of music inspired by water. Jonathan Ang used the piano to play a tune relating to water, and mixing it together with tunes from the Mbira which has a tinkling sound that gave the feeling of water. Combining these 2 instruments was a Glass Sculpture by Mohyin Kwan as an accompanying instrument that added to the harmony of the performance piece.

This experimental piece gave them an opportunity to combine music and art together. These tunes were played to a photo montage of the glass sculpture.

PROJECT: slingSHORT09 Film Synopsis

National Day / 19min / HD / 2009
by He Shuming
Wei has finally collected enough National Day Parade tickets for his whole family. But National Day happens to coincide with the 7th day after his father's sudden death. The family foregoes the Parade to observe a traditional family custom - waiting for the father's soul to return home before its final journey into the afterlife.









à la folie (like crazy) / 11mins 30sec / Digibeta /2008
by Sanif Olek
Sinta and Arjuna, a pair of lovers, reunite after a period of break-up. Back together, Sinta confides in Arjuna her time with Rawana and a big showdown ensues in this post-modern re-interpretation of the classic Ramayana.









Er Ren (For Two) / 17min / Digi Video / 2009
by Tan Shijie
A lonely widower lives a quiet existence, still longing for his deceased wife. Within his sparse apartment inhabits a furtive woman, who does not meet him face-to-face yet participates in a life “together” with him – eating his food and taking care of the house when he is gone. When the fragile reality of this life “together” threatens to become too real for either to take, both Man and Woman must react. Inspired by true events, For Two is a story about relationships and the illusions of them.









Reflection /14min / HD / 2007
by Ho Tzu Nyen
Based on a story by the 19th Century Greek writer Lafcadio Hearn, who settled in Japan as Koizumi Yakumo, this film is a parable about how man is a creature that perpetually cannot see beyond his own reflection.









Hush Baby / 4min / Digital Betacam /2009
by Tan Wei Keong
A curious baby is protected from an environment of temptation.









Sink / 10min 42 sec / 16mm / 2009
by Kirsten Tan
A sink sitting in the low tides. A boy playing by the beach. A chance meeting. “Sink” is a distilled exploration of innocence and experience, love and loss; an intimation of what might lie beyond.









Tanjong Rhu / 18 min / HD /2009
by Boo Junfeng
A former military officer seeks closure by making a documentary film about a man whom he had furtively encountered in Tanjong Rhu many years ago.

Tanjong Rhu is a secluded beach on the east coast of Singapore, and a popular cruising ground for gay men. In an entrapment exercise in 1993, 12 men were arrested there and sentenced to imprisonment and caning. This is a fictionalised account of what has happened since then to one of these men.

In Blackwater Woods

In Blackwater Woods was presented as the closing piece for 1 of nine at the Toynbee Hall on 10th October 2009. In Blackwater Woods is a lovely 3min poetic short film, which was shot on Super8 and directed by Fashion Designer Lilia Yip and Jessica Kneipp and edited by Tarjona Karhu. The film is a visual fragment of the emotional journeys traversed by people who have been affected by breast cancer - the collected thoughts and feelings from patients, friends and family. It takes its title from a Mary Oliver poem ‘In Blackwater Woods’. The film was narrated by Lilia Yip and features an original score composed by classical pianist Ziliang Song, which was performed live that afternoon.

BOOM by Jean Tay

BOOM
by Jean Tay (Singaporean Playwright)
Directed by Philippe Cherbonnier

Wed 21 - Sat 24 October 2009
7.30pm

Greenwich Theatre
Crooms Hill
London SE10 8ES

Click here to book your tickets.

Charmingly offbeat and very funny, Boom is a warm exploration of what makes a home, and what makes us so attached to it once we've made the perfect one.

Singapore 2008. With the economy booming and the demand for land intense, the young, the old - and the dead - are forced to jostle for a space to call their own: a property developer's mother refuses to move from their family home to make way for his new and very profitable apartment block; whilst a psychic civil servant - charged with relocating a cemetery - has come up against the most stubborn corpse yet.

Boom was first developed as part of the Royal Court Theatre's International Residency in 2007.

Yellow Earth is an award-winning East Asian theatre company. Since 1995 it has been championing and touring the best of East Asian theatre from Britain and the Far East. Under the leadership of Co-Artistic Directors Philippe Cherbonnier and Jonathan Man, Yellow Earth creates world class touring theatre inspired by the dynamic between East Asian and Western cultures.

SHOWCASE: Erika Tan

Erika Tan is a London based artist and curator from Singapore whose work has evolved from an interest in anthropology and the moving image. Her art practice engages with issues of representation, institutionalization of the other, and transnational maneurvering(s). Her work has been exhibited in Thermocline of Art, ZKM, Germany 2007; Singapore Biennale 2006; EAST International, Norwich Gallery; Cities on the Move, Hayward Gallery; Incommunicado, Manchester Corner House, Sainsbury Centre. She has worked on commissions with Film & Video Umbrella, Picture This, BBC Radio London, Channel 4, The Forest of Dean, and Turner Contemporary creating both permanent and temporary projects in the UK and abroad. Recent writing projects include And Now China? A special issue of Ctrl+P Journal of Contemporary Art, www.ctrlp-artjournal.org and a Manchester Cornerhouse linked web publishing project Sites of Production: Asian Travelogues [http://sitesofproduction.wordpress.com/].

As an extension to her practice, Erika has also curated and managed art projects such as: The ICA in China; Imaginaria Digital Art Prize '99; HUB @The RiCHMiX, an urban regeneration project; Souvenirs, interventionist project in Museum Street, London and most recently The Supplementary Museum, a critical engagement project in Brighton Museum. She has also had a long-standing interest and engagement with the Chinese Arts sector in Britain, working in a range of capacities from community worker, freelance researcher, curator and arts consultant.

Erika also teaches on the B. A Fine Arts Central Saint Martins School of Art and is associated with TrAIN, the Research Centre for Transnational, Art, Identity and Nation (University of the Arts, London) where she is currently researching transnational artistic practices.

Name: Erika Tan
Location: London, UK
Website: www.luxonline.org.uk
Contact: click here

Juan Lim and Kok Loong Wong performs at Toynbee Hall

Cancer not only has psychological influences on the patients but it also has a huge physiological impact too, especially Breast cancer. It causes imperfection to the body…

Cellist, Juan Lim and Architect, Kok Loong Wong recently performed at 1 of nine at the Toynbee Hall. They presented a music performance with moving images. The idea of their collaboration was inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of looking at things. Wabi -Sabi - to seek beauty in things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It is the beauty of unconventional things.

The moving image sequence was a series of pottery pieces Kok Loong Wong made. Traditionally, pottery making often concentrates on achieving symmetrical perfection in the process of creation. But Kok Loong Wong was interested in experimenting and try to break away from this conventional way of making pottery. The outcome of the experiment might seem strange to some, but it reveals its own beauty.

As an emotional response to what Kok Loong Wong created, Juan Lim chose the dissonant, ambient music of the Cello Sonata by George Crumb, to represent the notions of imperfection and sorrow. Yet out of that imperfection there should arise perfection, or the aspiration towards perfection- hence the choice of the Prelude from the G major Cello Suite by Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote some of the most perfect and uplifting music in Western art.

They hoped that the performance inspires people to see that all beauty is imperfect.

We tend to believe that the beauty of things should be symmetrically perfect, that all imperfection is ugly. And yet a tree is not symmetrical.

Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures
A listening party coordinated by Creative [SIN]ergy member, Song-Ming Ang

Mon, 19 Oct 2009, 8pm
Bar Prague
6 Kingsland Road
London E2 8DA
Free Entry

And the judge and the jury
They all put the blame on me
They wouldn’t go for my story
They wouldn’t hear my plea
Only you can set me free
‘Cos I’m guilty, guilty as a girl can be
Come on baby can’t you see
I stand accused…
of love in the first degree
- Bananarama,
“Love in the First Degree”

On 19 October 2009 at Bar Prague, everyone gets to be a DJ, and have their 15 minutes of shame.

Bring your guiltiest sonic indulgence – a song of your choice on your iPod (or CD/vinyl player if you’re feeling old-school). Tell everyone why you find it a pleasure, and why you feel guilty listening to it.

Members of the audience participate in this listening party by taking turns to talk about their chosen song before playing it for everyone.

At the end of the party, we will vote for the guiltiest pleasure, and the participant who brings the song will be rewarded with a prize.

Abba is ok, Bananarama is cool, Celine Dion is hot, and Kenny G is God. We all stand accused, but will you confess to your sins?

1 of nine in aid of Breast Cancer Care

Thank you again for a great event, all the artists were brilliant!
- Anita Jerkovic

Thanks, I certainly enjoyed it, some great talent on display.
- Ben Jones

Another successful event organised by Creative [SIN]ergy. 1 of nine is a charity fundraiser in aid of Breast Cancer Care and was attended by 73 people. The event was held at Toynbee Hall in the East End on 10th October 2009 during breast cancer awareness month.

1 of nine was an afternoon of Music and Art featuring collaborations between Musicians, Artists and Designers, resulting in a cross disciplinary effort of performance pieces and a charity auction. The name 1 of nine refers to the probability during the overall life expectancy of a women, 1 in 9 may suffer from breast cancer. It also refers to the participants, which are made up of 9 pairs consisting of 9 musicians and 9 artists/ designers coming together for 1 cause.The Afternoon started with a tea reception where guest were treated to a lovely exhibition curated by Siti Osman, featuring works by 1 of nine participants Kok Loong Wong, Lilia Yip, Mohyin Kwan, Sarah Cai and Virginie Litzler, Mathilda Holmqvist. The works were all for sale with a few pieces auctioned off at the end of the afternoon to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care.The performance segment of the event began with a lovely heartfelt appreciation speech by Breast Cancer Care volunteer, Sharon. Opening the event was Fontane Liang and Song Ming Ang with an improvisational and experimental music piece. The following music performance was a time-laps photography film by Louis Lau which was made up of over 2000 photographs. This was played to an accordion piece by Shzr Ee Tan.

Following that, Poulenc's sonata with Video by Curator Siti Osman and Shaun Ho on Violin, accompanied on the piano by Ziliang Song. The video (untitled) is by an Portuguese artist, Bruno Jamaica, who is based in London and Berlin. Bruno is a trained sculptor and landscape artist, who works mainly with elastic strings. Poulenc's piece was expressive and punctuated with explosive bursts of highs and lows. The performance conveyed freedom of movement in the open wind, it speaks of uncertainties, tension and hope. The piece capture the audience with assertive music but also instill hope for Breast Cancer.

Next up was a music performance with moving images by Cellist Juan Lim and Architect Kok Loong Wong. The idea of their collaboration was inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of looking at things. Wabi -Sabi - to seek beauty in things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. As an emotional response to what Kok Loong Wong created, Juan Lim chose the dissonant, ambient music of the Cello Sonata by George Crumb, to represent the notions of imperfection and sorrow. Yet out of that imperfection there should arise perfection, hence the choice of the Prelude from the G major Cello Suite by Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote some of the most perfect and uplifting music in Western art. After the break, audience were treated to a music performance with spoken words by Yao Cong Tan and Rosaline Ting, featuring: Su-Lin Looi. Su-Lin read a short story entitled, Splinter Under Your Skin by Rosaline Ting accompanied by Yao Cong Tan on Tuba. Following that, a music performance with Film by Grace Lee on Violin and Sarah Cai accompanied on Piano by Ziliang Song.

This was followed by a music performance by Soprano, Eeping Yee and Adam Loh, a ex-resident DJ at Zouk. In the absence of Adam Loh, Eeping was accompanied by Fontane Liang. Eeping Yee sung Morgen, a lovely poetic piece by Strauss and a touching and all time opera favourite, O mio babbino caro by Puccini.

Next up was a experimental piece of music inspired by water presented by Jonathan Ang who play on the Piano, Mbira and a Glass Sculpture by Mohyin Kwan as an accompanying instrument. This experimental piece gave them an opportunity to combine music and art together. These tunes were played to a photo montage of the glass sculpture.

The performance segment ended with a lovely 3min poetic short film entitled, In Blackwater Woods, which was shot on Super8. Directed by Fashion Designer Lilia Yip and Jessica Kneipp and edited by Tarjona Karhu. In Blackwater Woods was narrated by Lilia Yip and features an original score composed by classical pianist Ziliang Song, whihc was performed live that afternoon.The afternoon ended with 2 artworks auction off to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care. These items include a screen print by Sarah Cai and a painting by Kok Loong Wong.
1 of nine ended with a post reception where the audience got a chance to meet and socialise with the performers.
1 of nine is supported by: The Singapore High Commission in UK, Overseas Singaporean Unit and Yeo's, with special Thanks to Mrs Teo.

In aid of: Breast Cancer Care

Musicians involved:
Eeping Yee / Fontane Liang / Grace Lee / Jonathan Ang / Juan Lim / Shaun Ho / Shzr Ee Tan / Yao Cong Tan / Ziliang Song

Artists/ Designers involved:
Adam Loh / Kok Loong Wong / Lilia Yip / Louis Lau / Mohyin Kwan / Rosaline Ting (featuring: Su-Lin Looi) / Sarah Cai / Siti Osman / Song Ming Ang

SHOWCASE: Pearlyn Quan

Pearlyn Quan
- Editor of Teenage Magazine, Key Editions Pte Ltd, 2003-2005
- Editor of Seventeen Magazine, SPH Magazines Pte Ltd, 2005-2007
- Editor of Female Magazine, SPH Magazines Pte Ltd, 2007-2008
- Went travelling for 4 months: Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, Nepal, India, South Africa
- Arrived in London Jan 2009
- Freelancing for Singapore publications, covering: Arcadia Group Spring/Summer 09 presentation, London Fashion Week Fall/Winter10, 100% Design 2009...
- Also currently working on my own comics, have participated in Alternative Press Festival 09, Zineswap events...
- Recently got a part-time job with Wallflower Press, which specialises in books on film and moving pictures

Name: Pearlyn Quan
Location: London, UK
Website: NA
Contact: click here

1 of nine - Charity Fundraiser

Creative [SIN]ergy presents,
1 of nine
Saturday 10 Oct 2009
3.00 - 6.00pm

Toynbee Hall
28 Commercial Street London E1 6LS
(1 min walk from Aldgate East tube station)

Supported by: The Singapore High Commission in UK, Overseas Singaporean Unit and Yeo's, with special Thanks to Mrs Teo.
In aid of: Breast Cancer Care

Come join us for an afternoon of Music and Art. 1 of nine is a charity fundraiser in aid of Breast Cancer Care, a registered UK charity. This event will be held at Toynbee Hall in the East End on 10th October 2009 during breast cancer awareness month.

1 of nine features collaborations between Musicians, Artist and Designer, resulting in a cross disciplinary effort of performance pieces and a charity auction.

The name 1 of nine refers to the probability during the overall life expectancy of a women, 1 out of 9 may suffer from breast cancer. It also refers to the participants, which are made up of 9 pairs consisting of 9 musicians and 9 artists/ designers coming together for 1 cause.

1 of nine
Saturday 10 Oct 2009
3.00 - 6.00pm

Toynbee Hall
28 Commercial Street London E1 6LS
(1 min walk from Aldgate East tube station)

Tickets cost £10.00 each.
(cheque, all major credit cards and paypal accepted)
Please email info@creativesinergy.com to book your tickets. (booking fee of £1.00 will be added to each ticket on all credit cards and paypal payments)

Musicians involved:
Eeping Yee / Fontane Liang / Grace Lee / Jonathan Ang / Juan Lim / Shaun Ho / Shzr Ee Tan / Yao Cong Tan / Ziliang Song

Artists/ Designers involved:
Adam Loh / Kok Loong Wong / Lilia Yip / Louis Lau / Mohyin Kwan / Rosaline Ting (featuring: Su-Lin Looi) / Sarah Cai / Siti Osman / Song Ming Ang

Toynbee Hall
28 Commercial Street London E1 6LS
(1 min walk from Aldgate East tube station)

1 of nine programme line up

Music Performance
by Fontane Liang & Song Ming Ang

Music Performance with Time-laps Photography
by Shzr Ee Tan & Louis Lau

Music Performance with Video
by Shaun Ho & Siti Osman
accompanied by Ziliang Song

Music Performance with Moving Images
by Juan Lim & Kok Loong Wong

BREAK

Music Performance with Spoken Words
by Yao Cong Tan & Rosaline Ting
featuring: Su-Lin Looi

Music performance with Film
by Grace Lee & Sarah Cai
accompanied by Ziliang Song

Music Performance
by Eeping Yee & Adam Loh
accompanied by Fontane Liang

Music Performance with Photo Montage
by Jonathan Ang & Mohyin Kwan

Music performance with Film shot on Super8
by Ziliang Song & Lilia Yip

____________________________________

1 of nine
Saturday 10 Oct 2009
3.00 - 6.00pm

Toynbee Hall
28 Commercial Street London E1 6LS
(1 min walk from Aldgate East tube station)

Tickets cost £10.00 each.
(cheque, all major credit cards and paypal accepted)
Please email info@creativesinergy.com to book your tickets. (booking fee of £1.00 will be added to each ticket on all credit cards and paypal payments)

A6 /future/ press coverage