I Against I: An Offering To Deficit by Kiat

Those who know Kiat for his music projects will find that a trip to his first solo art exhibition at Art Outreach reveals a different dimension to his creative practice.

The Singaporean, who is one of South-east Asia’s pioneers of the drum and bass sound, is known for his live electronic music showcases and work as a DJ, music producer and co-founder of audio-visual collective-cum-independent record label Syndicate.

The exhibition’s title, I Against I: An Offering To Deficit, comes from a 2003 track by English trip-hop group Massive Attack. The show explores the crossover between music and painting, as well as how the invisible and unseen come to be represented on the canvas.

Kiat says in an e-mail interview: “As I was exploring, I noticed a deep connection between sound and colour. Musical inspiration plays a significant role in my art. As a music producer, I sample sounds to create new tracks. In my art practice, I also resample elements from my paintings, at times recomposing them digitally.”

Where: Art Outreach, 01-06 Gillman Barracks, 5 Lock Road
MRT: Labrador Park
When: Feb 17 to 25, 11am to 7pm daily
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg/f55w

Ding Yi Music Company’s Happy Chinese New Year Concert

For those in search of a twist on traditional Chinese New Year songs, Ding Yi Music Company promises a night of surprises as it brings together Chinese musical traditions and modern melodies.

It will collaborate with Singaporean singer-songwriter and actress Boon Hui Lu, whose claim to fame includes composing two tracks for Mandopop star Hebe Tien in 2016, and musicians from Hong Kong’s Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble for this concert.

Highlights of the evening include Tan-tiao Rock by composer Luk Wai Chun; Minnan Medley, composed by Young Artist Award recipient Wang Chenwei; and Odyssey – A Rock Fantasia For Double Ruan, performed by Ding Yi ruan musician Wong Wai Kit and Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble’s musician Chan Sze Tung.

Where: China Cultural Centre Theatre, 217 Queen Street
MRT: Bugis/Bencoolen
When: Feb 17, 7.30pm
Admission: $28
Info: str.sg/dmVU

queer / life drawing at Deck

As part of Deck Photography Art Centre’s Associate Creative Programme, Singapore-based art collective Singmoolsung will present an open studio that explores queer ways of seeing the world and one another.

Singmoolsung’s artists have conducted life drawing sessions which, unlike conventional groups that might have a pedagogical function and emphasise technical mastery, allow their models to participate in the creative process and choose the terms of engagement of how they are seeing and being seen.

The works on display take on a variety of forms that may not be conventionally regarded as “life drawing”, including poetry and collages.

“For us, life drawing is a medium for queer people to be seen by other queer people in a safe way,” says Singmoolsung in an interview with The Straits Times.

The artists, who wish to bend the boundaries of life drawing, will conduct a talk on Feb 17 at 2pm, where they will discuss how to see beyond form and how a gaze can also be a form of care.

Where: Level 7, GR.iD Singapore, 1 Selegie Road
MRT: Dhoby Ghaut
When: Feb 17 to 25, 11am to 7pm (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg/5FcJ