Breathing life into land - the making of an exhibition at Esplanade | Offstage
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
[{'start': '12.720', 'end': '14.280', 'text': 'Many people do not know that actually,'}, {'start': '14.280', 'end': '17.040', 'text': 'the entrance of Esplanade\nis at the Forecourt.'}, {'start': '17.840', 'end': '20.120', 'text': 'So once the Forecourt doors open,'}, {'start': '20.120', 'end': '22.800', 'text': 'you see the Concourse that is smack'}, {'start': '22.800', 'end': '26.240', 'text': 'right in the middle of the Concert\nHall and the Theatre.'}, {'start': '27.320', 'end': '30.240', 'text': 'So when people come\nthrough the entrance of Esplanade,'}, {'start': '30.240', 'end': '33.240', 'text': 'they encounter a visual artwork.'}, {'start': '35.120', 'end': '37.640', 'text': "It's very important\nfor us to create a range of"}, {'start': '37.640', 'end': '40.720', 'text': 'different kinds of experiences\nfor our visitors here.'}, {'start': '41.600', 'end': '43.920', 'text': "Whether it's ranging from performing arts"}, {'start': '43.920', 'end': '47.400', 'text': 'or visual arts to get different variety in'}, {'start': '47.640', 'end': '50.800', 'text': 'because we know that our visitors come\nfrom different backgrounds,'}, {'start': '52.320', 'end': '55.440', 'text': 'it makes sense for Esplanade\nas a performing arts centre'}, {'start': '55.440', 'end': '59.880', 'text': 'to feature visual arts as well,\nwhere the public can come'}, {'start': '59.880', 'end': '63.000', 'text': 'and then they can also encounter\nart simultaneously.'}, {'start': '66.720', 'end': '68.640', 'text': 'Once Esplanade'}, {'start': '68.640', 'end': '72.400', 'text': 'invited me for this project,\nI totally have no idea about...'}, {'start': '72.960', 'end': '77.160', 'text': 'Visually, I have no idea what the work is\ngoing to look like.'}, {'start': '77.880', 'end': '81.400', 'text': 'I actually started from the materials first\nrather than the concept behind.'}, {'start': '82.720', 'end': '83.760', 'text': 'We had this conversation'}, {'start': '83.760', 'end': '86.960', 'text': 'about how we could use materials\nto visualise'}, {'start': '86.960', 'end': '90.480', 'text': "something that's very intangible,\nlike air and breath, as movements"}, {'start': '90.480', 'end': '91.680', 'text': 'in a space.'}, {'start': '95.640', 'end': '98.160', 'text': "I'm more intrigued\nby how things move in spaces"}, {'start': '98.160', 'end': '100.800', 'text': 'and then what are the things\nthat cause movement in space.'}, {'start': '100.800', 'end': '102.280', 'text': "Is it the wind that's causing movement?"}, {'start': '102.280', 'end': '105.280', 'text': 'Is it human presence\nthat makes things move in a space?'}, {'start': '105.520', 'end': '106.840', 'text': "Because you can't see air."}, {'start': '106.840', 'end': '108.640', 'text': 'You can only feel it.'}, {'start': '108.640', 'end': '113.360', 'text': 'This is just a very vague concept,'}, {'start': '113.360', 'end': '115.600', 'text': 'how to execute this in the space,'}, {'start': '115.600', 'end': '119.600', 'text': "we didn't have a very clear idea."}, {'start': '121.200', 'end': '122.400', 'text': 'One thought we had is that, you know,'}, {'start': '122.400', 'end': '125.400', 'text': "it's like a backstage\nof the performance area."}, {'start': '125.400', 'end': '128.120', 'text': 'One of the earlier conversations\nwe had this idea of getai.'}, {'start': '128.120', 'end': '130.880', 'text': "There's always a backstage to the getai."}, {'start': '130.880', 'end': '135.240', 'text': 'In the old days, getai was all set up with\ncanvases, with the red and white canvases.'}, {'start': '136.520', 'end': '138.640', 'text': 'Things that are happening in the backstage'}, {'start': '138.640', 'end': '141.640', 'text': 'is seldom seen in the foreground,\nyou know, especially performances.'}, {'start': '142.640', 'end': '145.680', 'text': "It's almost as if you're seeing\nwhat's happening"}, {'start': '145.680', 'end': '149.160', 'text': "behind the scenes from the outside,\nbecause you're always looking at shadows."}, {'start': '149.160', 'end': '151.800', 'text': "There'll be actors inside.\nThey'll be lit by light."}, {'start': '151.800', 'end': '154.200', 'text': "You can't quite see exactly\nwhat's behind the shadow,"}, {'start': '154.200', 'end': '156.360', 'text': 'but yet you can see a silhouette,\nand the silhouette brings'}, {'start': '156.360', 'end': '159.360', 'text': 'forth certain ideas\nand certain memories of certain spaces.'}, {'start': '160.600', 'end': '163.320', 'text': 'This kind of canvas, in the ‘70s to ‘80s,'}, {'start': '163.320', 'end': '167.200', 'text': 'was frequently used in construction and in shophouses,'}, {'start': '167.200', 'end': '171.400', 'text': 'either to block sunlight or as a covering.'}, {'start': '171.400', 'end': '178.320', 'text': "This canvas is light, so when it comes to air\nand movement, it's easier to deal with."}, {'start': '178.320', 'end': '180.520', 'text': 'Plus, it lets light through.'}, {'start': '180.520', 'end': '182.760', 'text': 'It is a very ordinary material,'}, {'start': '183.640', 'end': '187.520', 'text': "it's not something often used in artworks."}, {'start': '190.520', 'end': '191.880', 'text': 'In Chinese, we like to say this'}, {'start': '191.880', 'end': '194.400', 'text': '“One minute on stage, \n10 years of work offstage”'}, {'start': '194.400', 'end': '197.400', 'text': "You don't see the hard work\nthat happens behind."}, {'start': '198.200', 'end': '200.960', 'text': 'And then we had this thought\nabout how construction'}, {'start': '200.960', 'end': '205.640', 'text': 'is always happening in the background,\nand how that brings into this, backstage'}, {'start': '205.640', 'end': '208.480', 'text': 'of the whole idea\nof progress in Singapore.'}, {'start': '214.600', 'end': '216.960', 'text': 'We will usually work with the curator\nand the programmer,'}, {'start': '216.960', 'end': '222.480', 'text': 'and the artist as well, in terms of\ninstallation plans, the feasibility of it'}, {'start': '222.880', 'end': '226.680', 'text': 'to see if, like the blueprint printed by\nthe artist is feasible'}, {'start': '226.680', 'end': '230.680', 'text': 'and it can kind of, manifest itself\nin a physical form.'}, {'start': '232.320', 'end': '234.520', 'text': 'Planning takes place as far as'}, {'start': '234.520', 'end': '236.480', 'text': 'three (months) to half a year ahead'}, {'start': '237.000', 'end': '239.920', 'text': 'This is where all the crucial information\nflows in.'}, {'start': '239.920', 'end': '241.800', 'text': 'Getting the artwork ready,'}, {'start': '242.080', 'end': '243.800', 'text': "is there fabrication\nthat's needed,"}, {'start': '244.240', 'end': '247.280', 'text': 'coordinating between contractors, \nour internal crew'}, {'start': '247.280', 'end': '249.720', 'text': 'and to bring the setup to fruition.'}, {'start': '251.760', 'end': '253.040', 'text': 'But then reality will always'}, {'start': '253.040', 'end': '256.200', 'text': 'hit us with a different picture,\nwhen we actually make the work.'}, {'start': '257.040', 'end': '258.240', 'text': 'If you are making a work for six months,'}, {'start': '258.240', 'end': '260.080', 'text': 'that means you need six months to test the work'}, {'start': '260.080', 'end': '263.160', 'text': 'in a space that is so vast, so wide and such a big space.'}, {'start': '263.720', 'end': '267.880', 'text': "A lot of times it's more about experience\nand about having a second"}, {'start': '267.880', 'end': '271.040', 'text': 'pair of eyes to catch possible issues\nbefore they happen.'}, {'start': '273.240', 'end': '276.600', 'text': "So I'm really glad for Mr Lim’s advice on\nwhat kind of material you can use"}, {'start': '276.960', 'end': '279.880', 'text': 'and sorts of fastening methods we can take on to'}, {'start': '279.880', 'end': '281.600', 'text': 'solve certain issues.'}, {'start': '283.440', 'end': '284.040', 'text': 'You learn that'}, {'start': '284.040', 'end': '287.200', 'text': 'materials will always,\nexceed your expectations of them,'}, {'start': '287.200', 'end': '290.200', 'text': 'and then they will betray you\nat the worst moments.'}, {'start': '292.800', 'end': '293.560', 'text': 'The works are all'}, {'start': '293.560', 'end': '296.560', 'text': 'commissioned at the Esplanade Concourse.'}, {'start': '297.000', 'end': '300.160', 'text': 'In particular, they are commissioned\nbecause the site is unusual.'}, {'start': '300.160', 'end': '304.840', 'text': 'You have all these uneven staircases,\nyou have these very, very high ceilings.'}, {'start': '304.840', 'end': '307.840', 'text': 'You have a lot of things\nthat’s surrounding'}, {'start': '307.840', 'end': '309.960', 'text': 'the uneven steps.'}, {'start': '309.960', 'end': '313.680', 'text': 'So artists\nactually need to be thinking about'}, {'start': '313.680', 'end': '316.920', 'text': "being site specific when they're thinking\nabout projects at the Concourse."}, {'start': '319.920', 'end': '320.640', 'text': 'The Concourse'}, {'start': '320.640', 'end': '323.760', 'text': 'as a visual arts space,\nI think the unique points will be'}, {'start': '323.760', 'end': '327.120', 'text': "there's a certain depth to it\nand it can be viewed from all angles."}, {'start': '327.480', 'end': '330.760', 'text': "And it has an immense height,\nand there's a grid on top"}, {'start': '330.760', 'end': '332.840', 'text': 'that we can hang anything.'}, {'start': '334.320', 'end': '336.960', 'text': 'The steps itself is challenging\nto work with'}, {'start': '336.960', 'end': '338.680', 'text': "because it's something that is not flat."}, {'start': '338.680', 'end': '340.800', 'text': 'They need the artwork to be grounded\nproperly.'}, {'start': '340.800', 'end': '345.320', 'text': 'Then we will have to find a way\nto fabricate flat platforms on the steps itself.'}, {'start': '347.520', 'end': '349.920', 'text': 'The issue\nwith working with big spaces, right,'}, {'start': '349.920', 'end': '353.040', 'text': 'is that we are always often in the studio\nmaking smaller objects,'}, {'start': '353.680', 'end': '356.720', 'text': 'but when we move a work from like a\nfour metre by four metre space'}, {'start': '356.960', 'end': '358.120', 'text': 'into a space like the Concourse'}, {'start': '358.120', 'end': '361.920', 'text': 'which is like twenty metres by twenty metres,\nthe whole sense of scale is skewed.'}, {'start': '361.920', 'end': '364.240', 'text': 'We can’t imagine ourselves in that space.'}, {'start': '365.320', 'end': '366.640', 'text': 'So we came up with this two ideas'}, {'start': '366.640', 'end': '369.480', 'text': 'of having a tower\nthat filled half the space, and then'}, {'start': '369.720', 'end': '371.920', 'text': 'things that went around this tower.'}, {'start': '373.320', 'end': '376.720', 'text': 'So the challenging thing was that we\ncouldn’t put up the whole'}, {'start': '376.720', 'end': '379.920', 'text': 'four-metre structure\ndue to the space constraint.'}, {'start': '380.560', 'end': '383.400', 'text': 'The way he had fabricated the structure,'}, {'start': '383.400', 'end': '385.080', 'text': 'it has to sit on a pedestal.'}, {'start': '385.840', 'end': '388.240', 'text': 'You have to find something to kind of'}, {'start': '388.240', 'end': '391.240', 'text': "be an alternative to the pedestal,\nbecause we couldn't test on site."}, {'start': '392.240', 'end': '395.160', 'text': 'So what Yang Jie did was, \nhe split the structure in half'}, {'start': '395.400', 'end': '398.560', 'text': 'He tested the top structure\nand then he tested the bottom structure.'}, {'start': '402.440', 'end': '403.360', 'text': 'You can never expect'}, {'start': '403.360', 'end': '406.440', 'text': 'what is going up\nand how is it being set up.'}, {'start': '407.600', 'end': '411.160', 'text': 'During the curation\nthey will have to think about how big in scale'}, {'start': '411.160', 'end': '415.360', 'text': 'the artwork is and is it appropriate,\nand does it fit into the venue itself?'}, {'start': '417.680', 'end': '418.960', 'text': 'Like for example, Joko,'}, {'start': '418.960', 'end': '423.000', 'text': 'he has his bamboos and rattans\nthat goes all the way up to the ceiling.'}, {'start': '423.360', 'end': '426.440', 'text': 'And of course \nwe would have a space constraint for that.'}, {'start': '426.960', 'end': '429.960', 'text': 'And yet\nwe have to make it safe for the public.'}, {'start': '430.320', 'end': '432.000', 'text': 'I can think of so many'}, {'start': '432.000', 'end': '435.000', 'text': 'visual art exhibitions\nthat [have] been great.'}, {'start': '435.240', 'end': '438.720', 'text': 'Visual artists think of ways\nthat they can interact with the space.'}, {'start': '438.920', 'end': '443.320', 'text': 'So all the work are commissioned and\nare very unique because they’re site specific.'}, {'start': '444.680', 'end': '447.160', 'text': 'So for example, Ms Han Sai Por'}, {'start': '447.160', 'end': '451.200', 'text': 'where she had a lot of metal pieces\nglistening with light.'}, {'start': '452.320', 'end': '454.280', 'text': "She's known for her work mainly"}, {'start': '454.280', 'end': '458.840', 'text': 'in stone, sculpture,\nbut she made little, little bits of very'}, {'start': '458.840', 'end': '462.360', 'text': 'pliable stainless steel with wire meshes'}, {'start': '462.360', 'end': '464.560', 'text': 'for SG50.'}, {'start': '467.280', 'end': '469.640', 'text': 'It was quite important for us to like,\nyou know, have interactions'}, {'start': '469.640', 'end': '474.600', 'text': 'with the Esplanade Visual Arts team to have\na sense of what do the outsiders see.'}, {'start': '474.600', 'end': '476.520', 'text': 'And what are the sense, you know,\nthey feel'}, {'start': '476.520', 'end': '478.600', 'text': 'when they look at a work like this.'}, {'start': '478.600', 'end': '481.800', 'text': "And I think it's through this process\nof conversation, creating prototypes,"}, {'start': '481.800', 'end': '483.840', 'text': 'creating different things\nthat, you know, we throw'}, {'start': '483.840', 'end': '487.240', 'text': 'an idea at the curator and the curator\nhas a thought “oh, what is this thing?”'}, {'start': '488.800', 'end': '490.440', 'text': 'This specific artwork,'}, {'start': '490.440', 'end': '492.280', 'text': "it's a bit unconventional."}, {'start': '492.280', 'end': '496.280', 'text': "The tarp in itself, people wouldn't\nexpect it to be an artwork."}, {'start': '496.840', 'end': '500.840', 'text': 'That in itself is quite inviting to people\nto encourage them to view the work,'}, {'start': '500.840', 'end': '503.840', 'text': 'and then also read up on the synopsis.'}, {'start': '504.760', 'end': '507.600', 'text': 'I think when everything is up and running,'}, {'start': '507.600', 'end': '511.000', 'text': 'like, you get to get out of the head\nspace, of always'}, {'start': '511.000', 'end': '515.160', 'text': 'wanting to, finish up the exhibition\nand get to take a step back,'}, {'start': '515.160', 'end': '519.040', 'text': "and you kind of just get to see,\nlike the artist's vision come to life."}, {'start': '519.720', 'end': '521.280', 'text': "I think it's very rewarding."}, {'start': '523.240', 'end': '525.920', 'text': 'When you get to see public interact\nwith the artwork,'}, {'start': '525.920', 'end': '529.440', 'text': "if there's any interactivity, and the smile\nwhen they take a photo,"}, {'start': '530.400', 'end': '534.760', 'text': 'all these is something that you will feel\nwhen you see that it’s working.'}, {'start': '536.520', 'end': '537.480', 'text': 'Visitors, when they come'}, {'start': '537.480', 'end': '541.640', 'text': 'into the centre, they will see\nthis spectacular piece of art'}, {'start': '541.920', 'end': '544.920', 'text': 'that will remind them\nthat it’s an art centre.'}, {'start': '546.720', 'end': '549.720', 'text': 'We want to have a conversation\nwith the audience about the memories'}, {'start': '549.720', 'end': '552.880', 'text': 'that they leave behind, and the memories\nthey want to bring forward to the future.'}]