Part of
Singapore International
Festival of Arts 2016
TROPICAL TRAUMAS:
A Series of Cinematographic Choreographies
Year: 2016
Director: Brian Gothong Tan
Venue: The Meadow @ Gardens by the Bay
Role: Production Manager
At its heart, this hybrid-cinema experience is a mesmerising exploration of explorers. Told through fantastical imagery and ethereal music, following a group of performers who re-enact the wild and exotic expeditions into the steamy Malay Archipelago, based on tales told by Sir Stamford Raffles’ wife Sophia Hull and the great British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Reimagining the narratives found in all sorts of places, from movies to historical travel journals to YouTube videos to daydreams, Tan puts together a daring, playful blend of cinema and theatre that explores the possibilities of multiple realities, stories within stories and speculative histories. His vivid images – including gigantic jungle animals like orang utan and birds of paradise – are illuminated across the perfect circle of Ron Arad’s 720°, set against a haunting musical score.
Images by Tuckys Photography