Silent Cloak (Jubah Kersserpi), 2011
Performance
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The National Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For Bukan Jalan International Performance Festival
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In my performance with Buka Jalan International Performance Festival 2011 titled, ' Silent Cloak -- Jubah Kersserpi ', the understanding of silence as a suppressed form married out from the traditions and cultures of my heritage as a Chinese - Singaporean living in a diversified country with some governance over religious affairs but with little communal or practice of traditions brought forth in this audience participatory work which I had engaged the physical form of each race in Malaysia to be transformed by the presence of covering, or hidden behind a statement which deprives the participant the basic rule of speech, command and decision. They seem to resemble silent sculptures unanimated and incapable of speaking for themselves.
I question if the basic rule of speech, command and decision has already been subjected to suppression from the practices of cultural inhabitations or does it already exist in our conscious practice of everyday life in physical activity and intellectual thinking.
I had the chance to explore this challenge by interacting with National Art Gallery premises and the audiences who had came to visit the Festival. In Malaysia, the population is a well mix of Malays, Indians, Chinese, Eurasians, Caucasians and Others. The diversity in the country is precisely how and why I could challenge the audience to think about their own cultural background and attitude towards their individual perception as a citizen of a modern world.
