Programme#14 [Zihan Loo: In Search of Duende]

July 8th, 2012 |  Published in News

12/07/2012, 20.00h
Programme#14 in Granada.

width=

‘In Search of Duende’: presentation by Zihan Loo, resident artist at The Unifiedfield AIR Programme in Granada. Zihan Loo will present his research process and materials for his next experimental video piece titled ‘Duende’. This project takes inspiration from Federico Garcia Lorca’s ‘Ode to Walt Whitman’ and the Grenadian poet’s letters from New York, being the third part of a trilogy of essay films that the artist has been working on since 2009.

Screening of Zihan´s first two pieces of this trilogy: ‘Aemaer’ (2010) and ‘Chancre’ (2011)

‘Cane’: video documentation of the performance by Zihan Loo, re-enactment of ‘Brother Cane’ by Josef Ng.


*CLICK on the pictures to see them FULL SIZE

BIO

Loo Zihan is a performance and moving-image artist from Singapore. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has had recent exhibitions and showings at NEXT / Art Chicago, Macau International Performance Art Festival and Defibrillator (Chicago). His moving-image works have been screened in various film festivals including AFI Fest (L.A.), Pusan International Film Festival, Newfest (New York City) and Frameline (San Francisco). He was the recipient of a James Nelson Raymond Fellowship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and he currently teaches cinema in different institutions in Singapore.

Website: www.loozihan.com

ARTIST STATEMENT

“My work is anchored in the moving image and extends to performance and mixed-media installations. I deploy these divergent mediums to address fundamental societal and artistic questions, such as the relationship between the artist and participant, the role of the “proper” and the still under-recognized pervasiveness of shame. A quiet lyricism and poetic rhythm couches my explorations of shame, sexual content and the dangers and pleasures of self-exposure. In submitting to my own self-exposure, I propose my work as a gift to the viewer.

My nation-state of Singapore provides the impetus for my questions. Equally known for its immaculate streets and brutal suppression of difference, Singapore proved a challenging place to emerge as an artist, where politically challenging work is often subjected to censorship. It strives towards a pragmatic utopia but is plagued with a history of amnesia. My work is an attempt to locate myself within this society where queer sexual practices are reflected back as criminal. I refuse to conform to regulations laid down by my country, creating work from the manipulation and exposure of my body in order to reclaim authority over myself. This act of self-determination serves to exemplify the survival tactics that we all must use to make our individual lives livable”.

The Unifiedfield experimental art space. Carrera del Darro, 15, 2 dcha. Granada.