Goodbye Goodman!

Tiramisu at Lasalle College of The Arts, it was a sweaty affair...

Hyperbolic Alpha Male (H.A.M): In Venice

A Pixelated documentation of the Venice Performance... it was such a small space and there were a lot of rules and regulations, in Venice it is illegal to have music outdoors. SO we had to make do with the minuscule interior, but I had loads of fun with the fruit bombs and whistling sparklers.

TIRAMISU rocking at Goodman Road for One Last Time

Yes, the Old LaSalle will be gone soon, and we have been invited to perform for one last time at the amphitheatre, for the good of evil, for memory sake we will do this one for Lasalle nevertheless. Plain Sunset, the band that pretty much inspired us when we first came to Lasalle and Psycho Sonique. Let's have a good time.

The first gig Tiramisu played was at the amphitheatre in '98 (damn, it has been 9 years), and we performed on a Freshmen night, some of us were not really sober, but we had so much fun that night.

GOODBYE GOODMAN!
LASALLE Moving Out Party for all alumni, current students and staff

29 Jun 2007 (Fri) 6.30pm – 11pm
LASALLE Amphitheatre, 90 Goodman Road

This is a LASALLE private party.
Students to present student card at the door for entry.

---------------------------

LINE-UP OF BANDS & DJS
FEATURING LASALLE ALUMNI & STUDENTS

Bands:
ALLURA – including Inch Chua, Aaron Wong, Mark John
ASTREAL – including Ginette Chittick
THE MARILYNS – including Azhar Talib
PLAIN SUNSET – including Jonathan Chan, Norsham Husaini
TIRAMISU – including Rizman Putra, Keith Su

DJs:
AMANDA LING
JULIAN LEE
JONATHAN NAH (aka KIAT of Guerrilla Collective)
KEITH COLACO (aka DJ KFC)


Represent!
Photos: It’s time to share those priceless photos of your days in art school!
From the early ‘80s and unforgettable ‘90s to the recent new millennia, we wanna see what you looked like!

Dress Your Decade: Come dressed as you were in the good ol’ (or recent) days of LASALLE!
Prizes to be won for “Best Dressed Art Student/Staff” of the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s.


Confession Box
Discover and laugh about the darkest secrets none of us ever told!
Write down your most memorable or most mischievous moments at Goodman Road
(or St Pat’s Art Centre, or Telok Kurau studios or Kallang Theatre),
drop it in our drop-box and catch the best Confessions and Top 10 Polls at the party screening.

Limited Edition T-Shirts
Slogans! We want slogans of popular expressions, sayings or quotable quotes
(especially from lecturers or bosses) from your generation!
Guaranteed to be collector’s items! Sales proceeds go towards the food and beer!

Food & beer will be served.
Age restrictions on alcohol consumption apply.
LASALLE Management reserves the right to refuse entry.

Sparkling HAM in Venice

The Final Showdown of the HAM republic in Venice. WIll post up the video soon...

A Homely Weekend

A homely affair, from left me, Bushuk Strompol, Is Vicious (my former schoolmate), Rida, Jad and Saf the Kinematician.

It is the beginnig of a new semester for AMK sec, there I was looking at my students, all these 'booyah' kids of the internet generation, and kept telling myself these kids are so lucky to have creative movement as part of the syllabus. When I was in school, I had to learn recorder and practice Chan Ma Li Chan day in, day out

For the first lesson, I will normally start with an African proverb that I came across long time ago, "If you can talk you can sing, if you can walk, you can dance."

And for the last couple of years I will start with the question 'Is walking a form of dancing?' Some of them said no, some said yes, but in the end everyone just agreed that they have no choice but to participate in this class. SO I told them, based on Alexander technique, it is all about body awareness and having the confident to move freely in a space without feeling guilty. I love teaching, but waking up in the morning is like a different task altogether. Sometimes I mix and match methods to suit the class... but at the end of the day, it is about disseminating ideas and expose them to things which they have never heard of...

Last weekend, after a freaking long time, I finally got the chance to hang out with some friends. I am not sure where I have been, but I know the past 6 months or so I have been really busy working my ass out.

Rock for Wayne gig was pretty alright, and the fact that it was the first time after a long time that I have ever been to gigs, but I managed to catch Humpback Oak, the younger crowd did not really respond well to the Oakies. Nevetheless, they were a bit rusty for they got back together just for this gig, they played Circling Square and Ghostfather. How nice...

Its funny when you know that going to gigs are getting different now when you have to look around for familiar faces. I met people like Nigel Hogan, who looked really mellowed down and a few others. It felt like I am not Indie enough to be in an Indie situation. Or I have stopped being Indie because being or not being is already Indie indeed.

In the evening, a friend of mine, Yan was spinning at Home Club, and Home Club has changed, and I am not sure of how many transformation this place has gone through, from the Mad Monk's origin to the early Pop Tart to now, which is just to slick for comfort. It used to be crowded during weekends, but it was a vacant affair, is Singapore becoming more happening these days, or we are just spoilt for choice, I used to remember Zouk was an institution for some of us who grew up in the 90s. These days, going to Zouk is like a touch and go affair.

Probably time is ever changing...

A Thousand Different Things

The fantasy playgroung smack in the middle of the walkway, for the innocent bystanders to ponder what the hell is going on...


This is an ode to the Flying Circus, Cake Theatre has a way to be political and at the same time being cheeky about it.


Dressing room regime, anime gone wrong.


Fared looking like Butoh Master, Kazuo Ono.

Oh my, the second half of the year is here, so what are we going to do? The following day after I came back from Venice with jet lag still, I was thrown into a multi-cultural fiesta initiated by Cake Theatre at The Esplanade, yes, Natalie strategically placed me as a Pop Idol, with a screaming red hair, tight leather pants and super furry hot leopard cape.

That was 'A Thousand Different Things' for me, I felt like I was in a National Day Celebration but slightly twisted, it was nice to be in the line up together with Fared, Emma, Najib and the flamboyant Essen. Last year, I played the prophet in Yolanda's Fever. Being a casual guitarist being placed in a public space and having to play 2 classic songs such as Wonderful World and We Are The Champions can be quite a formidable task. Especially when you have 72 hours to learn the song, But well it was al worth it nevertheless.

The Ancient of Mumu

Basilica di San Marco, Venice

Surviving Venice

Of course me and my former dean, S Chandrasekaran who was also performing in one of the collateral events. All clean shaven this man... but fitter and happier.


Happy People at the Mexican Pavillion, from left Zul, Anita, Robert, me, Robert's friend and Ajeet (former schoolmate who is working at the Mexican Pavillion)


San Marco at 3am, on our way back finding the night ferry.


The floating market near San Margherita.


Venizian graffiti in Campo San Margherita.


Iceberg installation at the Piazza Academmia, not far from the Singapore Pavillion

Well, I have survived Venice and now I have a jet lag with a slight vertigo, a week traveling in taxi boats giving me a very strange feeling. I do miss the food here, no chili for a week is tough for me. But nice to be back, and I had to go for rehearsal this morning with Cake Theatre with a little jetlag.

Everyone had a fair share of star sightings in Venice, Zul saw Naomi Campbell in one of the openings, Vincent saw Salma Hayek gallery visiting, and I met Tsai Ming Liang at the Taiwanese Pavillion, he was talking to a couple of confused European curators. I should have said hello, but I was too shy… but I swear to god I saw Moby passed by me while sipping my cappucino at the Accademia.

The Peggy Guggeinheim Collection was awesome, I stood in front of the Picassos, Kandinskys, Margrittes, De Chirico and all the legends of 20th century modernist painters… looking at Pollock in the last section brought me to a standstill. I saw these works in art books, but all of them looked so fresh and crispy.

In another section, Barney/Beuys exhibition was on, they were fantastic as well, the works were placed side by side, and you can see the impact Barney had in his works… well yes being an Art tourist, I had to buy a T-shirt.

One week in Venice was enough to put me into a situation where I felt like I have to rethink about my practice. I am inspired but yet I feel like there is a need to understand how it works in the art world.

I have never witnessed an opening where people were trying to bash through the doors without invitations. That happened in the Mexican Pavillion, music was loud, people were dancing, exchanging name cards, introduced to many people and forgot their names within hours…

I can never imagine that I walked through the Arsenale for half a day looking at works from all around the world, and it was simply remarkable… tired but good, Sophie Calle’s works were amazing. Emins’ drawings and installations were intimate, the Serbian Pavillion was a combination of old school/new school which I really like.

Baselitz showed his new works, Polke, Richter, and there were just too many to mention. I missed the Thai pavilion, the German ones as well where you have to queue up for 45 minutes to view the work.

I am going to take a rest now, and prepare for Documenta in July.

Art Overload in Art Mecca

Small LCD screens in the shower and you can switch around with the knobs to control the sound. This was a tribute to Nam June Paik.

A Monolithic Metallic structure in the Polish pavillion.

The classic light bulbs by the legendary Felix Gonzalez-Torres

I saw this interesting piece in the Russian Pavillion, with mirror reflection and lights... about getting lost in a well connected world.

The Venezuelan Pavillion with home made Cocoa at the entrance.

The Artful Day

The Swiss Pavillion


Hyperbolic Alpha Male in Venice, Orange Bar, San Margherita.


Venice, Italy
Friday, 8th June 2007
11:45hrs

As you can see, I am getting lazier in updating this blog partly because I am just too tired to keep up with things. The performance went alright, the fact that it was in a small space, and many did not get to see it. The opening of the Singapore pavilion was good, as the food was superb, I was surprised to see so many people.

I met Karen, a friend who is studying in Milan, came all the way to Venice to attend the opening, there is Colin and Karee, June Yeo, Juliana Yasin and other Singaporeans.

Coincidentally, the opening coincided with the degree show in Lasalle, so basically, my supervisor also known as Vincent Leow congratulated Robert and myself, and yes, it became such ‘a self-congratulating’ experience.

Ok all swell, San Margherita was where I performed, the atmosphere was great, I overheard a conversation, in Venice, there are artists and architects, the rest are all tourists.

This morning, we decided to do the whole art tourist thing at the main pavilion, or also known as the Giardini Biennale, where all the permanent pavilions are situated. I have never seen such an event being attended by so many people at one go. And it is so strict that they have to scan your card to get in.

Of course, there were many new works by the legends in the show curated by Robert Storr, there were Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Tracy Emin, Felix Gonzalez Torres where people were taking the free posters from the gallery like vultures gnashing in flesh of meat.

There are so many openings in the garden that you might never know you might just bump into a Turkish opening or whatsoever. This is the mecca of art, and after seeing all the works, you can’t help but to feel and ask yourself what have I been doing all these years? Have I been inspired or is it time to re-analyse my practice.

We got the news that Scissor Sisters will be doing the opening for the German Pavillion tonight at Lido, this was while I was buying gelato at Giardini from a group of American journalists who were going to gatecrash the party.

This is how it works, nobody really knows about the major openings, its either through the word of mouth, or insider’s information. People go to the party for loads of freebies, I got a catalogue from the Dutch Pavillion just by exchanging it with my namecard. But of course, if you are from the press you get more freebies. Like tote bags, t-shirts, badges of the different pavillions, so you can imagine, how crazy the situation is.

There are pavilions where you have to queue to get in, it is completely insane but an eye opener for me.

After close to 6 hours of looking at works ranging from objects, videos, paintings, installations, sculptures and many other things… we got really tired and decided to head home earlier, too many parties, too much to digest….

Another Day in Venice

Random nice building..

The Orange Bar at San Campos.

Jason doing last minute touch up on his work.

Chilling out under Zul's dome with Anita, photo by Rob

The Venizian Dream

The way out to the Boat Terminal from the apartment.

Hsein Lin from Mogas Station in the quaint little apartment in Giuetecca.

Robert taking a power nap in front of Vincent's sculpture.

Night view of Venice, while a bunch of Singaporeans and an Australian finding a nice place to eat.

Venice, Italy
Wednesday, 5th June 2007
06:30hrs

I woke up yesterday searching for the ever-elusive internet access in Giudecca but to no avail. Then, I tried logging in at the café I went yesterday but it didn’t work. Robert woke up earlier than me and he went to take a walk around the island. Walking by the pier in Giudecca seems really nice, a nice and tranquil neighbourhood, like you never know you might bump into Luigi, Ferrero, Marco, Antonio or whoever living in the area.

We spent the day walking around aimlessly again, but this time round, we are more familiar with the landmarks, so that it was pretty much easier to manage in the navigational side of things.

Well, what else to do in Venice, we decided to touch base and hang out at the Singapore Pavillion, it seems like it’s the only place where you know everyone.

Managed to get down to The Orange Bar and had a chat with Biljana, the Shanghai based curator who invited me and she told me Venice is a place where people rip you off big time. Well its true, everything is so expensive that it reaches to a point of ridiculous…

Venice is like London in some ways, expensive and loads of tourists… as the pavilions are all still not open and I have yet to get a hold of my golden ticket to any of the pavilion, we ended up hanging out around the Academia Bridge area.

I have decided not to keep thinking about the exchange rate or I will be famished. So yeah, I will have to pay no matter what, you can’t keep on eating 2 euros pizza everyday. You will go nuts…

The Venitian Mayhem

Zul and Rob at one of the many cafes not far from the grand canal.


On my way home, taking random shots of this surreal city...


San Marco, the mecca of tourists.


View from Giudecca, the residential area where we are staying.


Venice, Italy
Tuesday, 5th June 2007
06:30hrs

Many have mentioned about the beauty of Venice, so here am I, looking at the city in awe, from the architecture to the culture and the food. The flight was about 18 hours, thank god KLM has improved tremendously, from the entertainment to the food, but well, they still serve ice cream at 4 in the morning.

Watched 3 films straight and a documentary. The films were Zodiac, Little Children and the lamest of all lamest film ‘Black Dahlia’. But I topped all of these with a documentary on Nirvana’s Nevermind album on how it was made and the interview with Butch Vig was a gem. A very detail song by song presentation…very nice!

I didn’t really have a good sleep, in fact I couldn’t sleep at all. Partly because I was down with a mad fever the last 2 days and my tummy has been giving me problems but well the journey was pretty alright surprisingly.

Together with Robert and Anita, the 3 of us looked like united colours of Benetton in some ways due to our ethnic difference. But let’s skip all the Amsterdam transit joke and Masonry dilemma.

I will try to avoid writing like a travel writer for I know I am not. It is my duty to write based on my experience. Though the facts about the city may be true or may be not, it does not really matter.

We met Zul at the airport who has been there for a week setting up his work at the Singapore pavilion. As I have been invited as an independent artist by an independent curator, of course my treatment will be as independent as it gets, as what I have realised in Europe, technically people want to push your limit of independence to the fullest.

The instruction given to me was to find the apartment Giudecca No. 97, well, as you know in Venice City, people walk or take the boat, basically, we have to feel the vibes and let our soul free.

After an Italian lunch owned by a Chinese family, and a call to Biljana, we finally reached the apartment, a nice quaint space with a lot of furnitures and artists. Lodging in Venice is costly, the best and cheapest way is to share.

We did not waste any more time, so we set sail, curious about the cityscape like young men in search of new heights. The taxi boat is a helluva manic transportation, bringing people around the city. Though we are staying opposite the main city, like Sentosa and mainland, if you take the wrong boat, it may take you 2 hrs to reach the city.

My first impression of the city was such an anti climax, the city was filled with summer vacationers from all over the world, mostly Americans which include sailors, senior citizens and students, random Korean and Japanese kawai-des photo opps, Spanish diva dozens, rich middle eastern dwellers with their harems, it’s a circus.

We tried to find our way through the ruckus to the Singapore pavilion, Jason, Vincent, Da Wu and Zul are all setting up in the space. All looked ready,except for Da Wu who is waiting for his banana stems… and of course I met the legendary Chandrasekaran (my former lecturer) who will be doing a performance in Venice as well.

The Singapore Pavillion looked rather subdued from my angle, maybe I am having a jetlag or perhaps Vincent’s dog looked glossy and juicy. But yah, my body is still adjusting to the manic onslaught of the vicious city.

The city is beautiful nevertheless, if you are a big fan of gondola rides and willing to splurge 70 – 100 Euros (SGD$200), why not… if not then stick to your guns, look for cheap coffees, greasy pizzas or kebabs.

Being a Singaporean I can’t help but to say Boat Quay and Clarke Quay and is a bad imitation of Venice, or I am not sure if they are trying to imitate Venice. Wherever you walk or turn, you might get in a way of someone posing in front of the Rialto Bridge.

Venice I am Here

I am in Venice and internet is expensive...