Jason Wee is an artist and a writer working between contemporary art, architecture, poetry and photography. His art practice contends with sources of singular authority in favour of polyphony and difference. He transforms these histories and spaces into various visual and written materials. He founded and runs Grey Projects, an artists’ space, library and residency in Singapore and Berlin. He is an editor for Softblow poetry journal, and the author of the essay chapbook My Suit and the poetry collection The Monsters Between Us (Math Paper Press).
Jason will read from We Contain Multitudes (Singapore: Epigram Books), which he co-edited. The anthology celebrates 12 years of the Anglophone poetry journal Softblow, and includes poems by Singaporeans such as Boey Kim Cheng, Christine Chia, Tania De Rozario, Joshua Ip, Pooja Nansi, Ng Yi-Sheng, and Arthur Yap; and international voices such as Sherman Alexie, Ingrid de Kok, Kristine Ong Muslim, Mariko Nagai, Murat Nemet-Nejat, Alicia Suskin Ostriker, Laksmi Pamuntjak, Simon Perchik, Marge Piercy, Jeet Thayil, and Ocean Vuong. Jason will also read from his forthcoming book An Epic of Durable Departures (Math Paper Press).
Loo Zihan is an artist from Singapore working at the intersections of critical theory, performance, and the moving-image. His work emphasises the malleability of memory through various representational strategies that include performance re-enactments, essay films and data visualisation. His research includes the erotiohistoriographical potential of archives and queer bondage. His performances have been presented at the Singapore International Festival of Arts and the Brisbane Festival. He was awarded the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council of Singapore in 2015.
Zihan will speak about his installation "Queer Objects: an archive for the future." To assemble a hypothetical Singaporean queer archive, Zihan reached out to artists, theatre companies, queer-friendly faith groups, civil society organisations and personal friends. During the collection process, he encouraged the inclusion of objects that each contributor associated with their journey of queer identification. The final selection of 81 objects showcased the spectrum of queer experiences.
After their presentations, Jason and Zihan will engage in a conversation about "Queer Objects" and other queer stuff about Singapore. There is a very short open mike before their talks. RSVP Jee at jkoh@singaporeunbound.org for directions. Let him know what dish you'd like to bring for the potluck and whether you'd like to read for the open mike.
Hosted by Singapore Unbound.