Malaysia's 6 JAHANAM vs Japan's 7 SAMURAI

Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange (MJVAX) 2009-2010

MJVAX is the brainchild of Mohd Naguib Razak, Hasnul J Saidon, Hiraoki Sato and Katsuyuki Hattori.

Malaysian-Japan Video Art Exchange (MJVAX)2009-2010In Conjunction with MJVAX exhibition and screening National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia21 July - 20 August 2010

EditorHasnul J Saidon

ProducerMohd Naguib Razak

ContributorsSharon Chin, Hiroaki Sato, Katsuyuki Hattori, Kamal Sabran

Exhibition Curator & Project ManagerSharon Chin & Masnoor Ramli

Curatorial SupportsMajidi Amir & BSLN Team, Muhammad Husni Abd Latiff, Shamsul Ikhmal Mansori

Performance CoordinatorKok Siew Wai

Screening CoordinatorHasnul J Saidon & Hiroaki Sato

Tour, Accommodation, Transportation CoordinatorKyoko Kugai (Japan Foundation) & Wening Cheah (BSLN), Nor Laila Abd. Rozak@Razak, Safinawati Samsudin (MGTF)

Poster Design ConceptMasnoor Ramli Mahmud

Catalogue DesignShamsul Ikhmal Mansori

PhotographyMuhammad Husni Abd Latiff, Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin,Katsuyuki Hattori, Kamal Sabran, Sharon Chin

ArtistsHasnul J Saidon, Kamal Sabran, Kok Siew Wai, Masnoor Ramli Mahmud, Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin, Sharon Chin, Hiroaki Sato, Katsuyuki Hattori, Kotaro Tanaka, Akiko Nakamura, Aki Nakazawa, Kentaro Taki, Naoya Oe

Online Exhibitionhttp://mgtf.usm.my/exhibit.php

ISBN 978-967-0226-02-6Hasnul Jamal Saidon, 1965- Malaysia Japan video art exchange 2009-2010 / Hasnul Jamal Saidon. ISBN 978-967-0226-02-6 1. Video art--Malaysia. 2. Video art--Japan. 3. Arts, Modern--21th century Malaysia. 4. Arts, Modern--21st century--Japan. I. Judul.

© 2010 Hasnul Jamal Saidon and Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced except for the purpose of research, critism nad review, without prior permission from the artist and publishers

Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau PinangTelefon/Telephone: 04 6533888 samb/ext3261/4789/2137/4786/4787/4788 Faks/Fax: 04 6563531 Emel/Email: [email protected] Laman web/Website: http://www.mgtf.usm.my http://mgtfusmpenang.blogspot.com http://profile.to/mgtfusm www.tagged.com/mgtf www.twitter.com/mgtf www.youtube.com/mgtf

CONTENTS

What is Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange?8 - 9

Activities10 - 11

The Themes 13

The Seven Samurai Are Coming by Mohd Naquib Razak16 - 19

Screening Malaysia through Video Art (sMTVa) by Hasnul Jamal Saidon24 - 35

Video Art Selection from Malaysia37 - 52

The History of Video Art in Japan by Hiroaki Sato54 - 63

Video Art Selection from Japan65 - 87

Session One89 - 115

Session Two116 - 147

MJVAX Artists Bio148 - 153

Looking Back MJVAX 2010158 - 173

Acknowledgement176 - 177

Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange (MJVAX) is a major project bringing together institutions, artists, videographers and multi-media experts across Malaysia and Japan. It is anticipated to be a landmark event in video art and new media linking both countries.

(MJVAX) is the brainchild of Mohd Naguib Razak, Hasnul J Saidon, Hiraoki Sato and Katsuyuki Hattori.

Together they represent decades-long experience in the fields of media, video art and education in Japan and Malaysia.

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WHAT IS MALAYSIA-JAPAN VIDEO ART EXCHANGE (MJVAX)

This project is a result of their long-standing personal and professional relationships.

(MJVAX) is significant as the first of its kind to highlight the importance of video in our social-cultural landscape dominated by high technology and instant connectivity.

Creating a strong link with Japan, a nation at the forefront of video technology and discourse, will elevate Malaysia’s understanding of the past, present and future of video as a powerful new media.

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ACTIVITIES

1. Research.

Teams from Japan and Malaysia will collaborate in profiling video art practice and artists. They will establish theoretical and historical narratives for video art in Japan and Malaysia, whilst making comparative studies of such practices in both countries. This includes collecting, documenting, tabulating and analysing pertinent data or materials related to video art.

2. Artistic Collaboration.

A group of 5 artists from both countries will be selected to engage collaboratively in producing videoart projects, based on the outlined themes.

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3. Community Workshop.

The artists will also conduct interactive workshops with a selected community in both countries, in order to engage the public and promote video art as a form of contemporary artistic expression.

4. Lecture, Talk & Forum.

To provide deeper understanding and appreciation of video art practice, talks and open forums will be held at universities and institutions.

5. Exhibition, Presentation & Screening.

The results of the collaboration, workshop, talk and forum will be presented to the general public in an exciting exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia.

6. Documentation & Publication.

The project will be comprehensively documented to create a dynamic form of knowledge capital and resource. Information will be presented in DVD, website, web blog and database formats. Online documentation will form a major part of the project as it progresses, allowing the public to engage in the process as it happens.

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New Media & Cross Cultural reality in a Globalised World

Urbanisation, Consumerism, Mass Media, New Media & Pop Culture

Place, Changing Landscape & The Environment

Tradition, Heritage, Culture & Identity

Video as a Tool for Self-empowerment & Self-expression

THE THEMES

From left: Hiroaki Sato, Hasnul J Saidon, Katsuyuki Hattori & Mohd Naguib Razak.

First MJVAX Meeting at Shinjuku28 November 2008.

“THE SEVEN SAMURAI ARE COMING”By Mohd Naguib Razak

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Serious plans are well on the way to realizing a major event in the Malaysian video art scene: the Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange to be held in late 2009.

The project is the brainchild of Hiroaki Sato, who has just published a book in Japan called “Video Art as a Weapon”, Katsuyuki Hattori, Hasnul J Saidon and Mohd Naguib Razak.

The Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange or MJVAX, to be held in two sessions in both Malaysia and Japan, will feature four sub-sections: EXHIBITION/SCREENING of major video art works from both countries; an open FORUM on the future of video art, featuring video artists from both countries; WORKSHOPS for engagement/exposure between the visiting video artists and visual art students in local universities and colleges; and one-to-one COLLABORATIONS between Malaysian and Japanese video artists during and between the two sessions which are expected to result in fresh new video art works.

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The two sessions have been tentatively scheduled for October 1st, 2009 in Japan and for November 1st, 2009 in Malaysia.

In each country, visiting video artists will interact with local video artists in two cities, representing the old and new or the ancient and modern in both countries. In Japan, the MJVAX will commence in Tokyo and shift to Kyoto, before finally returning to Tokyo again, whilst in Malaysia, the summit will begin in Kuala Lumpur at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, and then proceed to Penang, before returning again to Kuala Lumpur.

Hiroaki Sato is a prominent member of Japan’s video art fraternity and has been a regular jury member for the JVC-sponsored Tokyo Video Festival. He is also the leading figure behind the Spread Video Art Project in Japan. The other project initiator from Japan, Katsuyuki Hattori, is one of the founding members of Video Art Center of Tokyo. On the Malaysian side, Hasnul J Saidon has been a leading figure in the Malaysian video art scene since the early 90s and is currently the Director of Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, whilst Mohd Naguib Razak is an established filmmaker-producer of documentary and experimental films.

Meeting in Shinjuku

The project was a culmination of many discussions, that began as early as in 2002, and, more recently, through frequent deliberation via the internet, until finally a small meeting was arranged by Naguib for the three video artists to meet in Tokyo last November 2008 and to discuss these plans earnestly and thoughtfully.

The meeting was conducted in the pulsating atmosphere of the well-known izakaya called Roman-Bou, famous for its Gaudi-like exterior in the Blade Runner-esque metropolitan scene of Shinjuku and a popular meeting place for theatre and publishing people.

During this meeting, the 3 video artists agreed that, apart from showcasing video art from both countries, it was important to establish a strategy to create dialogue with the general public, including non-academic video creators, as well as having activity that would be beneficial for students of visual arts and related studies.

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This meeting was followed a few days later by the screening of a selection of Malaysian video art works within a specially curated programme entitled, “Gado-Gado” during the BUREIKOUNISURU Festival of Video Works in Tokyo on November 29th and 30th, 2008 at the Victor Company (JVC) Building in Shimbashi.

BUREIKOUNISURU, which means “abandon all ceremony”, is a small video art festival initiated by Sato-san and Hattori-san to create closer rapport and discussion amongst video art creators and enthusiasts. Amongst the usual audience were members of the Moving Image Society in Japan, experimental filmmakers, photographers, fashion designers, university professors, painters, video artists, writers, unemployed people and university students.

Video art works by Hasnul, Roopesh Sitharan, Nurhanim Khairuddin, Anuar Ayob and TC Liew were screened and discussed. This small screening was prepared as a small “appetiser”of the larger collection of Malaysian video art works still to come during the eventual Malaysia-Japan Art Exchange towards the end of 2009.

The Japan section of the Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange is expected to be supported by The Japan Foundation in Japan, The Tokyo Video Festival, the Victor Company of Japan (JVC), as well as the Video Art Center of Tokyo, whilst the Malaysian section already has the backing of the National Art Gallery of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah in Penang. Further sponsors are expected to be confirmed within the next few months.

The project organisers are currently compiling a comprehensive list of Malaysian video artists and welcome voluntary information or involvement from professional and amateur video artists from Malaysia.

It is hoped that this major event will provide a significant boost for the local video art scene and become a turning point for the development of future video artists here.

(Mohd Naguib Razak was able to visit Tokyo and arrange the above meeting with the generous assistance from the National Art Gallery of Malaysia).

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MJVAX Exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia. 21 July - 20 August 2010

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Can Malaysia be screened? For some, the answer would certainly be yes, followed a chorus of “1Malaysia”. Perhaps few selected music videos of 1Malaysia songs can be thrown into the picture to affirm the response.

On the other hand, for some others, this is a ‘by default’ response. For them, the answer may not be that simple. A screening so to speak, of Malaysia (an advertisement about Malaysia) on the Discovery channel not so long time ago, created a heated response in Indonesia. There were even few threats to attack Malaysia due to what was taken as ‘stealing Indonesian culture’ in the content of the advertisement. It appears that screening Malaysia is not as simple as it looks.

Increasingly too, there seems to be two different traits in screening Malaysia when it comes to both local and international ‘mass media’. Locally, the echo of 1Malaysia seems to dominate. Internationally, the echo seems to be broken into dissonant pieces. As information is shifted from offline to online platform while we embrace the paradigm of ‘multi-media’, the simple text called ‘Malaysia’ is becoming more complex to transcribe and decode. Youtube culture for example, has made defining ‘moving images’ of Malaysia almost impossible.

SCREENING MALAYSIA THROUGH VIDEO ART (sMTVa)by Hasnul J Saidon

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Malaysia after all, is consisted of many Malaysians, all of whom may experience and define the country differently. In addition, few others may always be in a permanent state of wanting a Malaysia (‘Want Malaysia’ too) that they can only imagine in their minds.

Even the term ‘screening’ can be taken differently. Screening may technically refer to projection of film and video works (now digital) as well as showing them on tv screens or monitors. On the other hand, screening can also be taken as an interface, a form of mediation. Therefore, it can be read as a filter, or even a veil that negates one from seeing the ‘true soul of Malaysia’ (if there is one).

sMTVa is the latest series of screenings of video works from Malaysia. It began with MTV – Malay TV which was screened at the USM-ABN AMRO Arts and Cultural Centre in George Town, Penang in 2006. This initial screening was driven by the need to initiate a survey that will hopefully lead to a comprehensive effort to collect, study and analyse selected video works produced by local Malaysian artists within the larger matrix of Malaysian art history, theory and practice.

The Penang screening was later followed by a special screening of video art from Malaysia called Gado-gado in Tokyo, Japan in 2008. The screening, which was made possible by a collaborative effort of Naguib Razak, Hasnul J Saidon, Hiraoki Sato and Katsuyuki Hattori, became the seed of MJVAX (Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange 2009/2010). Several other video art works by Malaysian artists such as Wong Hoy Cheong, Hasnul J Saidon, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, Masnoor Ramli, Kamal Sabran, Kok Siew Wai and Sharon Chin were later screened in SVP 2 (Spread Video Project, 2009) and FEAVS (Far East Audio-Visual Socialization, 2009) both in Japan. Video art works from Malaysia were also screened in MTVa – Malaysia Through Video Art as a part of UN-CUT 09 MALAYSIAN ARTS FESTIVAL (coordinated by Amir Zainorin) in Gallery Shambala Copenhagen, Verdenskulturcetret Copenhagen and Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde, Denmark, in 2009.

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There are many ways, many angles and many contexts that which video art as an artistic practice in Malaysia can be studied. The choice would be limitless. Malaysia as a cultural ‘text’ in a video work may be read differently compared to other forms of artistic output produced by Malaysian artists in general. The reading may conform or further encase or expand and enrich a set of particularised nationalism that has been hardwired into the Malaysian psyche. It may also question, criticise, lament, or even deconstruct such notion. Cumulatively, it may even bring out new operational definition and parameter, providing more choices, richness and openness in regards to reading ‘Malaysia’ as a text and approaching video works done by Malaysian artists.

The decision to employ a seemingly explicit nationalistic title with an ironic twist may indeed stir few entailing questions and multiple readings, which are the basis of any research or study. The title connotes both local and international texts, in reference to MTV as a global export and Malaysia as an objectified form of national ideology. It may also be taken as an ‘open text’ that can be approached from multiple viewpoints.

There are numerous ‘texts’ around us that are ethnically and nationally-defined (not just ‘Malaysia’), no matter how parochial and vague they might be. These ethnically and nationally-defined spoken as well as textual materials have become our common multicultural landscape that can be found everywhere, ranging from political parties and NGOs, economic systems, philosophies, artistic genres and practices, cultural products, to banal everyday items including foods, fashions, health products, TV programmes, interior decorations, martial arts, garden styles, buildings, and many more.

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The examples are vast. There are ‘selipar Jepun’, ‘French fries’, ‘French toast’, ‘mee Jawa’, ‘air Bandung’, ‘roti Benggali’, ‘Swiss cheese’, ‘Swiss watch’, ‘Balinese garden’, ‘Japanese garden’, ‘English tea’, plus many more. As these materials are entrenched into the psyche of Malaysians to later manifest into a rich variety of lifestyles, it becomes rather more difficult to screen what is supposed to be Malaysia. Thus, it is understandable that in screening Malaysia, one may be accused of (or excused for) stealing. This may also remind us of the decision to use a ‘Minangkabau’ roof for the Malaysia Pavilion in the World Expo in Shanghai, China.

Intriguing enough, despite the supposedly ‘alarming’ globalisation (or gobble-lisation) with its allegedly sweeping power of cultural homogenisation and economic as well as technological imperialism, more people (not just Malaysians) are searching for comfort or perhaps a sense of security and belonging by returning to their own ethnic and national rooting. As the world is growingly wired and with wireless video technology becoming more and more accessible to the public, ethnicity and nationality are paradoxically becoming more pertinent regardless of how insular, parochial, narrow, problematic and ambiguous they may be perceived. It seems like, in ‘branding’ Malaysia (or oneself), one needs to be different (from whoever and whatever taken as the ‘others’), even paradoxically insular and parochial.

In viewing the video works, it would be interesting to again ask whether ‘Malaysia’ can really be ‘screened’? Or perhaps, should it be ‘scanning’ rather than ‘screening’? Perhaps too, we are actually scanning the artists, their works and even the beloved Malaysia that they all belong to?

Trails of Early Experimentations

The novelties of information and communication technology and the emergence of new media especially after 1990 have provided an important context for the contemporary art practice in Malaysia. Technology has provided a platform for global networking, enabling artists to form a web of non-hierarchical relationship or multi-directional link with other artists around the world. Such link has instigated cross-cultural encounters, creating a more inter-connected or inter-dependent environment for artists to steer their career. They have begun to embrace a set of new paradigm, marked by convergence, virtual presence, hybridity, interactivity and modularity. Currently, websites, blogs, chatrooms, online videos, youtubes, facebook, virtual galleries, online database, sms and mms provide free access to myriads of information for artists, especially those of the younger generation.

Since the 1990s, several artists have responded by using new media technology itself to make their works. Others have responded by expressing their feelings and thoughts on the impact of new technology. Art establishments, institutions and commercial galleries have also responded by organising exhibitions, projects, developing website, online tour and database.

The seed of experimentations with video, electronic and digital technology was planted in the late 1980s. Such experimentations emerged in the midst of what can be considered as amongst the peak periods of Malaysian modernism, with

abstract, water colour, big and pleasing paintings dominated the local art scene then. One example of such experimentations is Ismail Zain’s Digital Collage (1988), a solo exhibition consisted of his Macintosh-based digital prints. The exhibition can be taken as the early trailblazer of electronic art (e-art) in Malaysia. It has also been acknowledged for introducing new theoretical frameworks for contemporary art practice, especially in relation to media semiotics, information theory and globalisation.

Bahaman Hashim and Kamarudzaman Mat Isa (lecturers at UiTM) also started to use computer technology in the late 1980s to produce their silkscreen and photographic works. Around the same period, Ray Langenbach (with his students at the Universiti Sains Malaysia/USM) explored the use of video and electronic robotics while Liew Kungyu, who is known for his witty and wry multi-dimensional works, exhibited his single-channel video installation entitled Passage Through Literacy at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia in 1989. It was during the late 80s also that expanded painting and multi-arts engagements continued to be revitalised by groups such as the 4 Persepsi (Hasnul J Saidon, Taufik Abdullah, Fauzin Mustaffa and Mohd Noor Mahmud), Centerstage lead by Normah Nordin and Najib Nor and Five Arts Center lead by Krishen Jit and Marion D’Cruz.

Early 1990s saw the emergence of experimental works that include site-specific installation, video, performances, plus expansion of issues beyond aesthetic and formalism, such as identity and

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representation, cultural marginalisation, local politics and the economy. Installation art was spearheaded by several young artists then, such as Wong Hoy Cheong, Liew Kungyu, Zulkifli Yusoff, Tan Chin Kuan, the MATAHATI group and Noor Azizan Paiman. These artists, together with several other students from UiTM (Universiti Teknologi MARA) and MIA (Malaysian Institute of Art) toyed with mixed media and expanded painting, converging multiple fine art disciplines into one expanded installation, experimenting with computers and videos, inserting performative element, revitalising conceptual approach, doing research-intensive work, exerting angst and revisiting expressionism through figurative works.

They were interested in researching, testing, challenging, expanding, experimenting, questioning and exploring boundaries. Their interest and sentiment echoed similar preference towards installation and experimental approaches in the international art scene then. In doing so, they drove several interesting trajectories during the 90s whilst diversifying (if not deconstructing, albeit temporarily) certain privileged and dominant practices during the late 80s and early 90s.

It was during the 90s also that artists such as Wong Hoy Cheong, Hasnul J Saidon and Niranjan Rajah began to experiment with video and computer technology in producing their works, mostly due to their conceptual and multi-disciplinary stance. Wong Hoy Cheong for example, produced Sook Chin in 1990, an experimental documentary that was also presented in a form of collaborative performance at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia. Hasnul, who came back to Malaysia in 1993, produced several video works during his stay in the USA in the early 1990s and continued to showcase his video art and collaborative electro-acoustic performances actively throughout the 90s. Niranjan Rajah on the other hand, employed the internet as the platform of his online works as well as means to investigate the different paradigm between online and offline space. Other than instigating several new dimensions in the local visual art practice then, these three artists then began to be known for their multi-faceted roles as a lecturer, researcher, writer and curator, amongst many. Hoy Cheong was even actively involved in politics and social works.

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The experimentations and explorations of the artists above were further enriched by other artists such as Ponirin Amin, Zulkifli Yusoff, Zulkifli Che’ Haris, A. Rahman Mohamed, Faizal Zulkifli, Suhaimi Tohid, Syed Alwi, Lau Mun Leng, Liew Teck Leong, Low Yii Chin, Masnoor Ramli Mahmud, Azman Ismail, Muhd Faizal Sidik, Ling Siew Woei, John Hii and Alizam Hassan.

Other than video and computer-based art, artists such as Chuah Chong Yong employed the use of fax print for his work Pre War Building for Sale:Welcome to the Era of the Biggest, the Tallest and the Longest (1999). Other artists had also responded to media technology and the emergence of cyber world. Ahmad Shukri’s Insect Diskettes series II (1997) and Long Thien Shih’s Bar Coded Man (2001) are two examples. Recently, prominent Malaysian artist Zulkifli Yusoff, utilised computer-based process to produce images for his paintings and large-scale installations in his major solo show, Negaraku (2010).

Amongst the significant exhibitions that focus on video and digital-based art forms are International Video Art Festival (1990 & 1994), 1st Electronic Art Show (1997) and Flow-Arus (2000) organised by the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, Malaysian Video Awards (started in 1994) organised by the Malaysian Video Awards Council, Sony Video Art Festival (1994) organised by Sony Corporation, HYPERview (1997) a solo exhibition of electronic arts by Hasnul J Saidon and X’plorasi (1997) organised by the Faculty Of Applied & Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).

UNIMAS had also developed and launched a web portal and online discussion forum called E-Art Asean Online in 2000 (now defunct) while its artists were invited to participate in the Screen Culture and Virtual Triennial sections of the 3rd Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (1999), organised by the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia. Since then, the Faculty has been consistent in encouraging and exhibiting technology-based works of its final year students through its annual CIPTA (Cetusan Inspirasi Pelajar Tahun Akhir) showcase. Its faculty members have also been consistent in exhibiting their technology-based works such as in the recent e-CITRA (2010) exhibition. Other than UNIMAS, USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia) and UPSI (Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris) had jointly organised USM-UPSI Digital Exhibition (2001) in Ipoh. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, MMU (Multimedia University), since its inception, has also been known to churn out digital works by both its faculty members and students.

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Other seminal events include an online exhibition in Pekan Seni Ipoh in the late 1990s, curated by Niranjan Rajah, and a series of online projects called Museum Without Wall, curated by Wong Hoy Cheong. Video was also featured in experimental theater and musical productions such as Rama & Sita – New Generation (1996), a theater production directed by Janet Pillai and Charlene Rajendran, Skin Trilogy (1996), a multidimensional art performance directed by Krishen Jit and curated by Wong Hoy Cheong, Jambori Rimba – An Audience-interactive Video with Sound Installation and Concert (1996) by Hasnul J Saidon in collaboration with Barton & Priscillia McLean, Jati (2000) directed by Hamzah Tahir and Antara Semangat (2001) directed by Luiz Algreti. Multi-arts festivals such as Klue (2001) also include video art works by local artists. Perhaps, the most exciting and fertile ground for exposition of artworks that incorporate the use of video and digital technology is the Young Contemporaries Awards, organised by the National Art Gallery of Malaysia once every two years. Youtube-based video festivals as well as several online and community-oriented projects have also emerged for the past few years, spearheaded predominantly by individuals or cross-disciplinary collectives who are interested in exploring the seemingly ‘democratic’ posture and promises of online paradigm.

Video Art in Malaysia - An Overview

Historically, as a discipline of visual art and as a subject of study, video art in Malaysia is relatively new in comparison to other more traditional forms of fine art practices such as painting, printmaking, sculpture and drawing. Its’ presence throughout the history of fine art practices in Malaysia has been rather sporadic and scattered. Furthermore, other than the National Art Gallery and Universiti Sains Malaysia, institutions or private collectors have not been known to collect video art. Despite such situation, video art in Malaysia emerged years before her neighbouring countries, through Liew Kungyu’s, Passage Through Literacy (1989).

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For the past two decades, there have been occasional efforts in presenting video as an art form through solo exhibitions, public screenings, festivals and entries in art competitions. Since 1989, several local visual artists with experimental tendencies have dwelled into video as a part of their artistic repertoires. Artists like Ray Langenbach, Wong Hoy Cheong and Liew Kungyu were amongst them. Their video works have also been shown internationally. Ray for example, produced several significant and critical video works in the early 1990s. Towards the late 1990’s, the presence of video art as a part of e-art has been further acknowledged by the inclusion of multimedia category in the prestigious Malaysian Young Contemporaries Awards.

The early history of video art in Malaysia as well as e-art in general, has been introduced through the 1st Electronic Art Show held in the National Art Gallery in November 1997, curated by Hasnul J Saidon and Niranjan Rajah. It has been supplemented and further expounded by the initiation of E-Art Asean Online, an internet-based portal funded by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) in 2000. It was launched and made available in offline or printed version (a book) by the National Art Gallery, in conjunction with the launching of an international collaborative exhibition entitled Flow-Arus (2000) between Australian and Malaysian artists, curated by Zanita Anuar and Wayne Tunnicliff. The portal, consisted of a database, e-forum, e-journal, web art and e-link can now be taken as amongst the earliest form of community-oriented online initiative for the visual arts in Malaysia. It was unfortunately left to suffer a premature online demise due to directional change of its institutional owner.

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Fortunately, video art practice in Malaysia after the year 2000 did not suffer similar fate. In fact, it has been featured quite prominently in many exhibitions, competitions, festivals and screenings. Several young artists began to employ video in expressing their ideas and feelings. In the past few years, video has been an instrumental tool for art collectives, cultural activists and groups, alternative spaces as well as small scale exhibitions, private screenings, experimental performances and community projects, with collaborative engagements and networking that often reach out beyond institutional or gallery wall, even beyond the national border towards regional collaborations. Such collaborations have also expanded the way contemporary art is engaged, especially in reaching out to non-conventional audiences. These collaborations have also introduced many fresh, trans-disciplinary and innovative modus operandi, strategies and methodologies in organising contemporary art events.

Post 1990s artists who are more conceptual and open-ended towards their visual art practices such as Niranjan Rajah (now based in Canada), Hayati Mokhtar, Nadiah Bamadhaj (now based in Indonesia), Noor Azizan Paiman, Masnoor Ramli, Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin, Yee I-Lann, Vincent Leong and Ahmad Fuad Osman, have also shown their video-based works internationally. Video art however, has not been practiced singularly by any Malaysian artist. It has mostly been used in tandem with other mediums.

Amongst the international highlights of video art practice by Malaysian artists include Hasnul J Saidon’s Kdek!Kdek!Ong! (1994), an installation with video which was exhibited at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Triennial (1996) in Brisbane, Australia; Wong Hoy Cheong’s Re:Looking (2003), a multidimensional installation which was shown at the prestigious 50th Venice Biennale (2003) and Hayati Mokhtar’s Near Intervisible Lines (2006), a 4 channel video projection which was shown at the Sydney Biennale (2006). Other highlights include Nadiah Bamadhaj’s Beyond Recognition (2005) which was screened at the TV-TV, Week 34, Video Art Festival (2006) in Copenhagen, Denmark and Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin’s se(RANG)ga (2005) which was shown at the Nafas – Contemporary Art From the Islamic World (2006/7) in Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany. Hoy Cheong had recently produced and presented a video work during his residency in conjunction with the Fukuoka Triennials (2010) in Fukuoka, Japan, while Hasnul J Saidon and Niranjan Rajah held a two-man show, Relocations (2007) coordinated and curated by Roopesh Sitharan in Singapore as a partner exhibition of the ISEA 2007 (International Symposium of Electronic Arts). Other artists, such as Masnoor Ramli Mahmud has been relatively prolific in churning out video art and installation throughout his career. Video art from Malaysia in short, has been featured quite prominently in both local and international platforms.

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Video art in Malaysia post 2000 may perhaps be an interesting and engaging subject of further in depth and comprehensive studies, both historically and theoretically. It has also found its place under ‘experimental’ category in many local video art competitions, including the annual Festival Filem Pelajar (Students Film Festival) organised by FINAS (Filem Nasional). Concurrently, such development has placed video art at a fluid trans-disciplinary juncture of cinematic art or narrative film, fine art, literature, advertising, design, music, sound art and animation. In a way, it necessitates its practitioners to be multi-dimensional in their approach.

Younger artists such as Anuar Ayob, Diffan Sina, Fadly Sabran, Fairuz Sulaiman, Fariza Idora Al-Habshi, Harris Abadi, Helena Song, Ily Farhana Norhayat, John Hii, Kamal Sabran, Khairul Azmir Shoib, Kok Siew Wai, Ling Siew Woei, Mohd Ekram Al-Hafiz, Muhammad Colmann Abdullah, Rini Fauzan, Roopesh Sitharan, Roslisham Ismail, Saiful Razman, Sharon Chin, Suzi Sulaiman, Tengku Azhari Tengku Azizan, Ting Ting Hock and TC Liew have also been known for their multi-dimensional approach in the use of digital video, digital photography and printing. For examples, young artists such as Sharon Chin and Roopesh Sitharan, are also known for their writings and curatorial works. Sharon also runs Arteri, an online collective that are meant, amongst many, to engage online community in Malaysia with contemporary art. Roopesh Sitharan has been actively researching and writing on several issues pertaining to contemporary art, especially on new media.

Roslisham Ismail on the other hand, is known for his link with Indonesian-based international event called OK Video as well as the SentAp! magazine. Colmann and Ekram are a part of a collective known as Pixel while Anuar Ayob, Tengku Azhari and Rini Fauzan, all lecturing at UNIMAS, USM and UNISEL (Universiti Industri Selangor) respectively, are known for their video and sound installations. Harris Abadi, as the most recent addition, had recently exhibited his highly inventive video mapping installation in the Outer-Inter exhibition (2010) at the hip 360. Other than digital video art, artists such as Hasnizam Wahid, Goh Lee Kwang, Kok Siew Wai, Kamal Sabran and Fadly Sabran are also known for their trans-disciplinary electro-acoustic and experimental sound performances.

Hasnizam Wahid for example, has been performing and presenting his electro-acoustic works mostly outside Malaysia. He had also collaborated with Hasnul J Saidon and Mohd Hafiz Askiak in establishing the eclectic EAG UNIMAS (Electro-acoustic Group, now defunct) in 1997 that converged gamelan with electronic and rock music. Hasnizam had also collaborated with Khairul A Azlin and Hamzah Tahir in producing an experimental performance called Wayang Virtual in 1997 that combined the traditional shadow puppet performance with real-time 3D animation and computer music.

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Kok Siew Wai, who co-founded SiCKL (Studio in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur) and EMACM (Experimental Musicians and Artists Co-Operative Malaysia) has been active in organising, producing and performing experimental video and sound projects for the past five years. Goh Lee Kwang on the other hand, has been active predominantly in Germany and Europe and known for his electro-acoustic performances. Both Goh and Siew Wai are also known as the proponents of highly experimental, raw, improvised and collaborative sound art.

Kamal, together with Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin lead a group called Space Gambus Experiment (SGE) that has been prolific for the past few years in performing improvised sound performances in several premises. Kamal Sabran had also produced and performed a collaborative experimental performance of live acoustic with computer music composition and multiple video projections based on sounds from the outer space, at the National Planetarium of Malaysia. The performance, called Sonic Cosmic (2006) was a result of Zamalah Karyawan Tamu – a unique and newly-established ‘art meets science’ residency program pioneered, sponsored and organised by the Agency Angkasa Negara (ANGKASA), Ministry of Science and Technology Malaysia. Kamal’s younger brother Fadly, is currently one of the members of another experimental group called Sosound. He is also known for the use of digital video in his installation works.

Despite its seemingly marginal presence, plus the dominance of more established forms of contemporary art such as painting, video art is still kicking, especially amongst the young cyber generation.

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The following is the screening programme and synopsis of each work. Texts for the synopsis are mostly based on materials provided by the artists or galleries that represent them. The screening is divided into 5 themes as the following:

VIDEO ART SELECTION FROM MALAYSIA

1. The Politics of Displacement and (Mis)representation.

Title : Post-colon – A Series of Video Shorts Artist : Hasnul J SaidonYear : 1993Duration: 40:30

“Post-colon” is a series of video shorts based on the artist’s cross-cultural experiences during his 3 year stay in the USA. This introspective video looks into the artist’s own displacement of his ethnicity, nationality, historical and cultural background as well as personal memories, within the context of his host country USA and the spectacle of mass media.

Title : Anxiety – A Video AnthologyArtist : Anuar AyobYear : 2005Duration: 18:00

The work consists of five short experimental videos that relate several Malay proverbs to anxiety that the artist experienced during his stay in the USA. It delves into the impact of American foreign policies on Muslims, globalisation and its war against terrorism. The work uses media semiotics, metaphors and deconstructive collage to create a series of personal responses towards such domineering policies.

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Title : se(RANG)gaArtist : Nur Hanim KhairuddinYear : 2005Duration: 11:10

The works comments on the power of global media in demonising Islam and echoes the growing distaste for media imperialism and how the hegemony of global media capitalises on conflicts to achieve economic and political domination. It also makes a wry comment about fabricated reality, which seems to affirm the post modernist’s proposition that we live within the sway of mythology conjured for us by the mass media, movies and advertisements.

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Title : Re:Looking (video documentary version)Artist : Wong Hoy Cheong (in collaboration with Arifwaran Shaharuddin for video and Chimera Design for website)Year : 2003Duration: 27:00Note : Originally presented in a form of multi- dimensional installation, other than a website

“Re:Looking” challenges our usual perception of given national history and collective memory. In deconstructing the official narrative of Malaysian history, Hoy Cheong meticulously infuses the work with layers of intertwined political and socio-historical issues related to colonialism, post-colonialism, identity, racism, power relationships, migration and empire making. It features a rewritten history, proposes that Malaysia had conquered the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The video contains fictitious historical record, doctored archival photographs with Austrian and Malaysian historians taking part in a fictitious documentary video discussing the conquest and its implication on modern or post-colonial Austria and Malaysia.

2. The Transient Nature of Space, Memory and History.

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Title : PlacesArtist : Tengku Azhari Tengku AzizanYear : 2006Duration: 24:39

Places is a conceptual video that re-questions the sense of locality and social presence in our (often times politically-constructed and economics-driven) material reality. For those ‘thinking type’ who like the idea of sound-scape, this piece is for you.

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Title : PenawarArtist : Hayati MokhtarYear : 2007Duration: 19:50Note : Created for installation of single-channel projection onto wall, in a continuous loop

This video work records the clearing-out and closing-up of a house in Ayer Itam, Penang. The house, Penawar, built in 1930 for a wealthy businessman and auctioneer C.M Hashim, served as a family home and remained occupied until the death of his second wife, Puan Sri Fatimah in 2006. By viewing the house within a wider historical context, its importance becomes more evident. Such buildings not only act as a repository of an undeniable public legacy be it an unpalatable one i.e., our colonial past - but, also, they crystallize the sheer haste with which so many of our towns and cities have been transformed by development. Might not their disappearance mean that we will lose, not only a clear sense of direction, but also, ultimately, a coherent sense of who we are? Penawar, interestingly, means a cure or antidote for poison.

Title : Making NightsArtist : Sharon ChinYear : 2006Duration: 17:00

The video is based on the constellations of stars that are visible above the skies of 3 cities – Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jerusalem – at 10 pm on the first night of Ramadhan month in 2006. It was made by placing a mobile phone video camera in a shoe box with the lid shut. By punching holes in the cardboard, light was admitted into the box, which registered as points of light (or ‘stars’) by the camera; hence ‘making night’. The simplicity of the action is juxtaposed against the suggestion of an infinitely wide and complex, yet unifying, cosmos.

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Title : Not Talking To A Brick WallArtist : Nadiah BamadhajYear : 2006Duration: 5:34

The house in this video is located in Geylang, Singapore and was built by the artist’s great grandfather, Omar Bamadhaj, in the late 1800. Three generations of Bamadhajs lived in this house and an entire generation was born here. This house was sold to a collective of Singaporeans by the Bamadhaj family in the 1980s. This work is inspired by a collection of old family photographs that focus around the site and tales of the patriarch Omar’s emotional distance from his many grandchildren, one of whom is the artist’s father. This video attempts to express her frustration at the inaccessibility of memory in both photograph and site, of emotional warmth between the generations of her family and of the understanding of what it means to be one of Singapore’s Arab families. The structure of the house still exist, but the ownership of memory, site and identity is now lost.

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Title : Too Much Not Enough Artist : Ahmad Fuad OsmanYear : 2006Duration: 5:30

The work presents two contrasting scenes, one shows the scenes of dogs fighting and the other the scenes of a body being showered or washed. The artist seems to remark that there are ‘too much’ carnal violence and savagery around us, only to be countered by too little (not much) spiritual recuperation. The video may perform as a crude satire of our confrontational impulse to dominate and rampant desire to consume. While brute and savage strengths are sometimes justified as means to control, subdue and dominate, the need for spiritual recuperation increasingly becomes more pertinent or imperative.

3. Revisiting Existentialist Tendency.

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Title : The Last Sin Artist : Fadly SabranYear : 2008Duration: 15:9

In his note, the artist writes, “mainly in Malaysia, for those who are living as a visual artist, life is full of challenges. Even though the valuation of the art scene is very subjective, those who do not have the strength to sustain should think twice before deciding to be a visual artist. Those who are weak have mostly surrendered.” This work depicts a story of a struggling visual artist whose life is marked by a tragic twist of irony and paradox.

Title : Pot LuckArtist : TC LiewYear : 2007Duration: 4:00

The video is based on documentation of the artist’s audience-participative public performance in George Town, Penang. In the performance, members of the audience were encouraged to burn joysticks as a means to bring luck, cleanse and rejuvenate themselves. On a personal level, the performance was also meant as a recuperation and cleansing ritual for the artist, other than the state of Penang. About a year after the performance, the state witnessed a political transition from Barisan Nasional to the DAP-lead Pakatan Rakyat.

Title : Darah & Daging (Blood and Flesh)Artist : Kamal SabranYear : 2005Duration: 5:22

This video piece was inspired by Kamal’s ritualistic return to his Malay Kampung house. Kamal fuses his longing for his mother’s kampung cooking (represented by a series of close-up video recording of his mother preparing/cutting a fish) with his expressive interpretation of life and death as well as human consumption (perhaps greed and violence too).48

Title : BalangArtist : Muhammad Colmann AbdullahYear : 2010Duration: 3:41

Balang is a metaphorical narration that perhaps touches on the affinity between nature and woman.

Title : How To Be BruceArtist : Vincent LeongYear : 2004Duration: 7:00

The original footage of How To Be Bruce - a video of animated graphics, was taken from Way of the Dragon (1972) starring Bruce Lee. The film marked the starting point of a new genre in cinema - Martial Arts. In the closing sequences, the fight scene between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris at the Coliseum in Rome is considered to be Lee’s finest. This scene is not only significant but also resonates with layers of meanings as it sets up Norris to be defeated by Lee in one of the greatest cultural monuments of the West, historically an arena for combat. How To Be Bruce is a 7 minute digitally animated video, which distills human fury from a historically and culturally iconic event into an instantly recognisable, universal and contemporary language of symbols. In this video, a choreography of coloured dots and arrows become the signifiers of human actions and expressions, anatomical tensions and the eternal conflict of good and evil. All the remains from the fight sequences of the film is the decontextualised soundtrack.

4. Pop Fiction, Parody and Witty Social Commentaries.

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Title : Mereka!Merdeka!Mereka!Artist : Noor Azizan PaimanYear : 2003Duration: 9:06

Semi-‘mockumentary’ video piece in a typical raw, direct and mischievous Paiman’s trademark approach towards the notion of ‘merdeka’ or independence and the way it is celebrated (and deconstructed perhaps) by ‘mereka’ (them?). Is it ‘mereka’ with a ‘d’ or ‘merdeka’ without a ‘d’?

Title : Puthiya Vanam, Puthiya Bumi (New Sky, New Land)Artist : Roopesh SitharanYear : 2006Duration: 5:50

Based on a soundtrack of a popular song by popular Tamil actor MGR, Roopesh wittily infuses what seems to be a low-tech and home-made travelogue video with cliché choreography and stereotypical camera language of Tamil movie to make a seemingly video satire about the promise of a new land. The scenes depicted in the video is ironically the city of San Francisco USA where the artist stayed during his MA stint. The main actor/singer moves between one scene to another as he sings out the lyric that seems to match each depicted scene. Beyond the parody and satire, Roopesh is making a wry commentary on the notion of migration and the promise of a new life.

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Title : Mess-mediaArtist : Ekram Al-HafisYear : 2010Duration: 2:41

This video reflects Ekram’s interpretation of the impact of the mass media in ‘messing’ our brain.

Title : Road RunnerArtist : Faizal ZulkifliYear : 1996Duration: 13:34

Road Runner is a parody of ‘Bas Mini’, a mini bus service which was known in the 80s and 90s as one of Kuala Lumpur’s (KL) street menace. By employing the visual language of video game, Faizal invites the audience to participate in a ride of terror around KL.

Title : Beyond SeeingArtist : Shamsul Ikhmal Mansori, Hasnul Jamal Saidon, Goh Lee KwangYear : 2010Duration: 2:14

A homage to Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal and Dr. Chong Hon Yin, two separate individuals that are brought together by their affinity towards the stars & universe.

5. Spirit of Collaboration.

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THE HISTORY OF VIDEO ART IN JAPANBy Hiroaki Sato

1964 CV2000

The First VTR for consumer use.SONY 1.2inch,

B/W, Open reel-tape

system.

1966 KNC-800

The First color VTR

for consumer use.JVC, 1/2inch,

colour, Open reel tape

system.

1975Beta Maax SONY 1/2

inch colour tape system.

1975VHS (Video

Home System) JVC 1/2inch,

colour, cassette system.

19848mm video

Kodak,8mm cassette tape

system.

Techinal innovation of video equipment for consumer.

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1995mini-DV

Unified standard system of Digital video 0.35mm.

2003HD-1

The Hi-vision camcorder for

home use. mini-DV,

JVC.

2004GZ MC100/200

The first hard disc recording system

camcorder , JVC.

2007GZ-HD7

The first 920 Full Hi-vision system

camcorder, JVC.

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Generations of Japanese video artists

1st Generation & 2nd Generation

Keywords:Alternative TVFrom product to processGuerrila TelevisionCommunity TVVideo synthesizer

1970 Expo 7D Osaka1972 The first video art exhibition “Do it yourself-kit”1977 Image Forum1978 Tokyo Video Festival

Porter pack system.

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“Guerrilla Television” Michael Shamberg & Raindance Corporation

1971

“Oh! My Mother”Kohei Ando1969

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“Lapse Communication”Hakudo Kobayashi 1972

“Friends of Minamata Victims-Video Diary”Fujiko Nakaya 1971-72

“Biologival Cycle No. 2”Ko Nakajima 1971

“Image of Image-Seeing”Saburo Muracka, Tatedo Kawaguchi, Keiji Uematsu 1973

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“Kick the world” Nobuhiro Kawanaka 1974

“Monalisa”Toshio Matsumoto1973

“Action, Stone-Nail-String-Light”Keiji Uematsu 1976

“Digest of Video performance”Norio Imai 1978-83

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3rd Generation

Keywords:Video PerformanceTV is not TVVideo InstallationMusic VideoPersonal VideoMixed Video

1980 Video Gallery SCAN1985 Tsukuba Expo 85 TV WAR 9.15 Fukui International Video Festival 85 (fukui)1986 TVEV Broadcast 9.121987 Japan 87 Video Television Festival1989 Media Art Museum ARTEC 89, Nagoya

“Co-Relation”Yoshitaka Shimano1983

“Taller Pole”Naruaki Sasaki1985

“Video Letter”Yohani Kibe, Yoshinobu Kurokawa1985

“Media Art Museum”Live event & TV ProgrammeConcept: Akira Asada/ O.A on NHK-BS Channel1989

“TV WAR”Multimedia Live Performance on Junbo Toron ( 25mx40m)Concept: Akira Assada1985

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4th Generation

Keywords:Media ArtNew NarrativeDigital AgeVideo Activism

1990 Fukui International Youth Media Art Festival (Fukui)1991 NTT ICC 91 (continuous annual pre event till 96)1997 NTT ICC SVP (Spread Videoart Project)1999 LIFE2001 Videoart Center Tokyo

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“Beyond”Takuji Yamaguchi1992

“Totem Lesson”Eiki Takahashi1990

“Identofy?”Yutaka Tsuchiya1993

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VIDEO ART SELECTION FROM JAPAN

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#1Title : Kick the WorldArtist : Nobuhiro KawanakaYear : 1974Duration: 15min. 20sec.

This video is one of important early Japanese video art works. Nobuhiro Kawanaka is a pioneering figure of early movement of experimental film in Japan. He also tried to use primordial video systems. This video embodies a keyword of early video art “from product to process”.

#2Title : Co-RelationArtist : Yoshitaka ShimanoYear : 1983Duration: 8min. 3sec.

Yoshitaka Shimano is a key person of 3rd generation of Japanese video art scene. He made many video art works during his student days. He was called “physical video artist”. This video is one of his extreme works.

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Hiroaki Sato Selection

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#3Title : Even if they had some tacit agreements among themselvesArtist : Hiroaki SatoYear : 1997Duration: 17min.

This video is a personal memory of a trip to a mysterious area in Japan that keeps traditional religion, practice and class difference. I watched many things but I couldn‘t get any reason behind the common practice of the people who live in the area.

#4Title :The Memory of Being Here Artist : Ryota KawabeYear : 2007Duration: 28min.

Numerous housing complexes constructed during the economic growth period of Japan; mostly now decrepit, are now re/deconstructed and are slowly starting to vanish from the landscape. When a place get torn down, would its memories vanish as well? This is an attempt to dig up the memories of the residents using a fictional story of a little boy who was said to have disappeared 10 years ago. In this film, 5 housing complexes situated in suburban Tokyo are presented as a single image of an ordinary Japanese housing complex. (R.K) .

Katsuyuki Hattori Selection

#1Title : Oz MixArtist : Ippei HaradaYear : 1999 Duration: 5min.

Old movie reinterpreted. “Oz Mix” is an attempt at making music with images. I sampled fragments of Ozu Yasujiro’s “Tokyo Story” (1953) into the computer indiscriminately. Then, I mixed filmic elements of the images recorded on the old film, its dialogue, sound effects, scratches and noise with the musical elements of rhythm and a guitar phrase to create a new way of expression.

#2Title : Blowing The Wind no. 09Artist : BontansuiYear : 2009Duration: 2min. 40sec.

#3Title : Blowing The Wind no. 07Artist : BontansuiYear : 2009Duration: 2min. 45sec.

#4Title : Blowing The Wind no. 010Artist : BontansuiYear : 2009Duration: 3min.

#5Title : Blowing The Wind no. 11Artist : BontansuiYear : 2009Duration: 2min. 45sec.

A painter’s paints converted into videos. For these works, Bontansui collaborates with Christian Munthe, a Swedish experimental musician. Stimulated by Munthe’s music, Bon collages his paintings and snap photos in a method of what he calls as “Field Works”.

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#6Title : The Path Go WithArtist : Ritsuko UtidaYear : 2009Duration: 20min.

Utida is an 80 years old female video maker. This piece is her personal documentary on Old-Old Care Life. The way she tells her life with her old ill husband is eye-opening and deforms our usual stereotypes about elders’ lives. ( Old-Old Care Life: Pronounced “LOW LOW KAI-GO” in Japanese. A life of an old wife taking care of her old and ill husband).

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Aki Nakazawa Selection

#1Title : TV DramaArtist : Yoshitaka ShimanoYear : 1987Duration: 7min. 22sec.

Scores of used TV monitors piled up disorderly in a delivery center of an electric shop. They must have been used to attract the eyes of viewers for years and even influenced the process of forming their consciousness. The trace of images that was projected by the TV for tens of thousands of hours is accumulated on the fluorescent screen and the low pressure inside of a cathode ray tube might be made of a spiritual air of images. But now they are abandoned and dying. I pick up a dozen at random and load in a car. I am going to put an end to each life, one by one.

#2Title : Alone At LastArtist : Eiki TakahashiYear : 1989Duration: 15min.

A quotation from William S. Burroughs is presented over and over in the ways of narration, typescript, scroll titles. The piece is an experiment of presenting text in video media.

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#3Title : CaseArtist : Yasuto YuraYear : 1994Duration: 9min. 22sec.

Memory of people is multilayer-like, therefore, there must be various procedures before “the drawer” is opened. Memory is not always correct. Memory, this “storage space” is saving the present while I’m telling it now. The storage space is limited and memories are sorted out and thrown away, become ambiguous, and past memories are mixed up to become a new memory. How correctly can we recall an unimportant incident from ten years ago?

#4Title : Core m.v.a.Artist : Katsuyuki HattoriYear : 1996Duration: 7min.

Motion, vision and audio. Images are decomposed and refined into three elements and re-experienced in video-time.

#5Title : Unidentical Unreversible Repeated ReplayArtist : Atsushi SakuraiYear : 2000Duration: 15min.

Through innumerable junctions and choices for each way, here I am with this truth that I took. If I took another choice, it would be also a truth. Is it a delusion to believe that I just took one of innumerable truths by chance? I have a drink with friends. Friends? How much I know about them? It’s another delusion to think that our communication is based on a little misunderstanding and a big compromise. It’s a simple presentation of these two delusions.

#8Title : UnconsciousArtist : Yusuke NakajimaYear : 2007Duration: 5min.

Taking notice of things ignored in daily life and searching for the beauty hidden in “dirt” and “ugliness”. The sound consists of “living sound by fieldrecording” and “creation with electric-sound”. The mixture of all these materials invites a status of “unconscious” in the video.

#7Title : DenotationArtist : Fumiro SatoYear : 2007Duration: 5min.

The “red thing” passes through the old Japanese house. Where is “the red” going?

#6Title : DaseinArtist : Takeshi MochidaYear : 2002Duration: 10min.

My beard grows fast. It must be because of my lazy unhealthy life. My mother and girlfriend don’t like it and I shave it. Now in a mirror I see myself new without the beard and I like it. I also like things with rust. A spanner, a pair of pliers, a doorknob and a tap.... These rusted things, which already lost the original forms look very cool. I guess, I will become also rusted someday, decay and disappear. So I make a package of the precious irreplaceable present with a video camera.

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Kotaro Tanaka Selection

#1Title : WISIWYG versionArtist : Kotaro TanakaYear : 2004Duration: 10min. 30sec.

The concept of this video is rhythm by image. Rhythm by editing, by motion of objects and by line of vision of audiences is presented gradually. Rhythm occurs by update, not repetition.

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5

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#2Title : KaizerArtist : Kotaro TanakaYear : 2006Duration: 10min. 19sec.

Pictures watched in “kaizer panorama” don’t have the notion of beginning and ending as they are represented in cycles. In the meantime once cinema starts, it must certainly end. Since cinema has the property that changes eyes itself, space in cinema changes. In this movie, deformation doesn’t mean drawing but is kept as the sign of the motion.

#3Title : Mornin’Artist : Kotaro TanakaYear : 2008Duration: 1min.

A man wakes up, has coffee and smokes a cigarette as usual. Nothing special happens in this film. No, anything special isn’t needed in it. Cinema is formed even though special things won’t come. A man’s eye falls down as usual…

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#4Title : Light-YearsArtist : Kotaro TanakaYear : 2008Duration: 12min. 24sec.

Cinema has represented numerous past, present and even unknown future. The concept of this work is a kind of unknown future. What are they listening to, talking about and gazing at? Rather they may be doing something unexplainable by language, somewhere several light years away.

#5Title : VarfixArtist : Kotaro TanakaYear : 2010Duration: 8min. 23sec.

A video for music “Varfix” composed by Kensuke Fujii. This music sounds somewhat monophonic, so this video was made as polyphony in contrast. Animation can make events not only simple but easy to understand. Each element used in this video is separated from the meaning which it has originally. It is used for only representing something dynamic.

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Naoya Oe Selection

#1Title : Lost in a garden of image Artist : Naoya OoeYear : UnknownDuration: 7min. 40sec.

This video is themed on memory and record. Video is a clear record. But memory is ambiguous. It is important that we notice the difference.

#2Title : Her Ironical Me Artist : Shigeo ArikawaYear : UnknownDuration: 15min. 4sec.

When put together, the first letters of the words in the title Her Ironical Me becomes “HIM.” This implies the irony that each “he,” “she” and “I” can always only exist ambiguously and implies the irony that we cannot be isolated from time. Photographs of a face are taken in every morning for 2 years. Additionally, a photograph with a shutter speed of 1/15th of a second appears just for 1/15th of a second in this work.

#3Title : Kioku Zenkei Artist : Masashi YokotaYear : UnknownDuration: 6min. 20sec.

There is size in memory. Maybe I think that it is size so as to step on the palm. There is depth in memory. The thing that I watched and it is a thing in the depths that I looked at. There is sound in memory. The thing that I am conscious and heard and which is not so. Size, depth and sound form each memory and while by little fail in dropping frames of memory sways within me forever.

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#4Title : Videotaped MiragesArtist : Akinari NishimuraYear : UnknownDuration: 17min. 50sec.

The movie “Videotaped Mirages” was made twice. First, it was made as a certain type of self-portrait of the author, but it has been kept out of sight because the author denied his own confession. The second time it was made it broke off from the first person point of view and the narrative was rewritten so that it seeks “him,” the author. It is an approach to expand qualities of self-portrait which sometimes is confessional while concealing itself at the same time by learning a strategy of movies having the audiences tied down on the chairs and by examining an Alfred Hitchcock-invented device called “MacGuffin”.

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Seven J-Artists Works

#1Title : Ark on a Dirt SiteArtist : Hiroaki SatoYear : 2001Duration: 10min. 15sec.

This is the first one of my continuous works “ARK”. I made this sentimental video for the memories of my valuable two persons who died in a same year 2000.

#2Title : Study on Media “Education Before Education” Artist : Katsuyuki HattoriYear : 2001Duration: 9min.

A short study on mass-media. Preconditioning by “mass-media” is infiltrated into individuals in present Japanese society. This work takes close look at the Education-Television broadcast in Japan and reveals to us an example of early preconditioning of human behavior. The video let us “see” the environment of electric mass-media.

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#3Title : HolidazeArtist : Kotaro TanakaYear : 2005Duration: 6min. 26sec.

Many people enjoy shopping in the afternoon on a holiday. Only a camera is shooting the sight as if carrying out its purpose. As a result, time is cut and ticked apart. A camera continues to move horizontally. After all there are various time axes in this movie. This is a structural movie about time.

#4Title : Video Composition#2 “Stolen Air”Artist : Kentaro TAKIYear : 1998Duration: 5min.

While watching TV, we usually do “zapping” without thinking seriously. This active behavior of changing the channels and getting information is as though collaging commercial images and sound from the TV programmes. I sampled images and sounds at random from TV and composed many clips and gave them new meanings.

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#6Title : Word, image and a boy [tentative title]Artist : Akiko NakamuraYear : 2010Duration: 10min.

Fragmental thoughts on word and image, guided by the voice of a five year old boy.

#5Title : Document Public Relation(s)Artist : Naoya OoeYear : UnknownDuration: 7min. 46sec.

We are surrounded by the media. There is information in every place in the town. However, as for us, information does not have interest. Conversely, media is interested in us, “our look” and “a look of the media”. This relationship is important.

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#7Title : Lola - what Lorelely wanted speakArtist : Aki NakazawaYear : 2010Duration: 10min. 30sec.

“Ich weif nicht, was soll es bedeuten (I don’t know what it may mean)....” With this famous poem by a German poet Heinrich Heine, Loreley, a woman in a legend of the river Rhein is well known as a femme fatale with beautiful hair and fascinating voice. She invites sailors with her singing voice to death and it is a very romantic, mysterious and beautiful story… But, wait! This femme fatale would have wanted not only to sing but also to speak something more! A story of Lola, a today’s woman crosses Loreley’s story and reveals why Loreley sings. It shows a suppressed emotion in a famous figure made by men and typical feminity that society expects.

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Tokyo One Minutes and Student Video Works

#1Title : Tokyo One MinutesArtist : UnknownYear : UnknownDuration: 8min. 50sec

#2Title : Student One Minutes-1Artist : Nippon Kougakuin CollegeYear : UnknownDuration: 7min. 20sec.

#3Title : Student One Minutes-2Artist : Musashi University Department of SociologyYear : UnknownDuration: 13min.

#4Title : The One Minutes Jr.Artist : Musashi University Department of SociologyYear : 2008 from the festival in NetherlandsDuration: 22min. 20sec.

Hiroaki Sato participated in The One Minutes Jr. festival in Netherlands from 2006 to 2008 as one of Jury members. After that, he held several occasions of One Minutes Video workshop in Tokyo. His artists group “SVP2” made a programme of “Tokyo one minutes” on annual showing of the group in 2008. These works are selected from the programme.

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Kentaro Taki Selection

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#1Title : Human FeedbackArtist : Video Artist Workshop Documentation 1Year : Jan 2000Duration: 15min.

#2Title : Camera PatternArtist : Video Artist Workshop Documentation 2Year : May 2000Duration: 15min.

1 2 3

#3Title : The Battle of Closed CircuitArtist : Video Artist Workshop Documentation 3Year : May 2000Duration: 25min.

From 1999 to 2001, several numbers of “Video Artist Workshop” were held in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. The workshop ran usually 4-5 days and there were no lecturers and no students, but participants spontaneously could contribute ideas, they discussed and moved to verify them. In the final day of workshop, they had presentation with audiences. After 80’s golden age of Japanese video art, there were no venues and no opportunities for young video generation to get together and to make works through friendly rivalry. However, “Video Artist Workshop” counted over 50 participants and later on this movement took advantage of founding VIDEOARTIST CENTER Tokyo in 2001. This movement gave many inspirations to video artists for their activities and solo video works.

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#1Title : The Presence of My Father Artist : Hiroaki SatoYear : 1995Duration: 18min.

I travelled to Wakayama, middle area in Japan, in the summer 1995. In that region, people say that a person presents themselves as a soul and doesn’t just exist. My father presents himself, too, not justexisting.

Citizen’s Video Selection

1 2 3 4

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#2Title : IntervalArtist : Maki SatakeYear : 2005Duration: 10min. 45sec.

This video won a prize “excellent works” in Tokyo Video Festival 2006. Maki Satake is a video artist from the newest generation of visual art scene. She brought an enormous still image into her moving image. Her unique idea to use images from old videotapes gives screen space a different dimension.

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#3Title : The Last ChapterArtist : Makiko IshiharaYear : 2007Duration: 20min.

This video is Makiko Ishihara’s private documentary about a relationship between herself and her strict father. She found a surprising description on the last chapter in autobiography of her father. She tried to confirm the reasons why her father wrote the chapter. In the verification process, she picked up the small nuance in between the lines. This video won the grand prize of Tokyo Video Festival 2009.

#4Title : Digest version of Agri Reporter’s Video worksArtist : Makiko IshiharaYear : 2003 - 2005Duration: 20min.

Agri Reporter means amateur video maker who works within an agricultural industry. Hiroaki Sato held a “video reporter training program” for special TV channel of Green Channel Agri-net from 1995 to 2005. He picked up many local topics from very original report of the video makers.

SESSION ONETokyo, Fukuoka3 Sept - 2 October 2009

Session oneTokyo & Fukuoka26 Sept-13 Oct 2009

プログラム

16:30 ～18:00

プログラム

18:00 ～19:00

プログラム

19:30 ～21:00

10月2日（金）

16:00～

ここにあるのはドキュメンタリーや

フィクションといったジャンルの垣根ではない。

作品が生成される場に立ち会った者と

それ以外との差があるのだ。

作品を見る時、その差は俄に拡大し、またある時には驚くほど接近する。

手法に傾倒するのはもう辞めよう。

ここにある作品が映像の新しい力を示してくれる。

マレーシアの作家と

田中廣太郎とが、

東京でひとつの

アクションを試みる。

それぞれの都市の風景と

そこにある音を題材に、

作家たちが越境し、干渉し合う。

採集された風景と音は

東京でミックスされ、

ライブアクトとして発表される。

マレーシアでのビデオアートはまだ若く、

多くの作家によって表現が模索され、更新され続けている。

シュウ・ワイはパフォーマンスをベースに、さまざまな環境の中に自身を投じてみせる。

サウンドトラックはボイスパフォーマンスと環境音で構成される。

マスヌールはマレーシアの文化的混在をユニークな手法で見せる。

シャロンはコミュニケーションをテーマにしたワークショップを各地で展開しているが、

映像作品でも作品成立のプロセスを問題にしている。

カマルはライブパフォーマンスでも作品を発表している。

自ら作る音楽と都市のランドスケープとの関係をその題材に使う。

ヌルハニムの作品は、一見するとグロテスクな変容を扱っているのだが、

その真意はマレーシア文化の変容も照射することである。

A AA A

B

B

C

C

S

P

S

プログラム

13:00 ～14:30

プログラム

14:30 ～15:30

プログラム

15:30 ～16:30

プログラム

16:30 ～19:00

10月3日（土）

12:30～

A

B

☞パーティー含む

『人魚島の子ども』Naguib Razak　ナジブ・ラザク　1999年　10分

『Bo Lang Chai』（忘失）Ong Boon Keong　オン・ブーンキョン　2007年　35分

『Ten Years Before Independence』（独立十年前）Fahmi Reza　ファミ・レザ　2007年　30分

『Re: looking』（再：見る）Wong Hoy Cheong　ウォン・ホイチョン　2002～ 04年　30分

『IN THE TANK』（水槽内） Kok Siew-wai　コク・シュウワイ　2002年　3分

『THE BREATH OF TIME』（時の息吹） Kok Siew-wai　コク・シュウワイ　2005年　10分

『Garlic Red Onion』（にんにく赤たまねぎ）Masnoor Ramli Mahmud　マスヌール・ラムリー・マフムード　2006年　5分 30秒

『SAMSENG (GANGSTER) 』（悪漢）Masnoor Ramli Mahmud　マスヌール・ラムリー・マフムード　2009年　1分

『CURIOUS』（興味津々）Masnoor Ramli Mahmud　マスヌール・ラムリー・マフムード　2009年　1分

『HAPPY｠NEW｠YEAR｠MA…』（謹賀新年 マ…）Masnoor Ramli Mahmud　マスヌール・ラムリー・マフムード　2009年　1分

『Making Night』（夜を作る）Sharon Chin　シャロン・チン　2006年　10分

『seRANGga』（セランガ）Nur Hanim Khairuddin　ヌル・ハニム・カイルディン　2005年　5分

『Soundscape Journal no 1』（音景日誌第１章）Kamal Sabran　カマル・サブラン　2009年　10分

『proclaim』（宣言）Hasnul J Saidon　ハスナール・J・サイドン　1995年　10分

無礼講ではおなじみの

アーティストが作るプログラム。

持ち時間30分で、マレーシア作家は

プレゼンテーションをするか？

パフォーマンスをするか？

あるいは観客とやり取りをするのか？

主催者は持ち時間と上映環境だけを

彼らに伝え、当日まで内容が判らない。

上映プログラムにはない、

ライブの魅力を発揮する。

東京でのラスト・プログラム。

～混在する文化と顕在する記憶～

～場所の記憶と映像の忘却～

～越境する風景と　対峙する音像～～潜在する表現と内在する思考～

マレーシア作家による無礼講な30分×5

ドキュメンタリーの動向

日本プログラム

ライブパフォーマンスビデオアートの動向

順不同

『それは表象の庭で失われた』大江直哉　2007年　7分 40秒

『Shot』西山修平　2007年　11分

『ここにいることの記憶』川部良太　2007年　28分

『合い（AI）』韓成南　2006年　9分

『喪失の記憶』奥野邦利　2008年　5分

Kamal Sabran カマル・サブラン

Sharon Chin シャロン・チン

Kok Siew-wai コク・シュウワイ

Nur Hanim Khairuddin ヌル・ハニム・カイルディン

Masnoor Ramli Mahmud マスヌール・ラムリー・マフムード

ナジブ・ラザクの作品は

マレーシア漁民の伝統を見つめた作品である。

この作品を起点に、地域と歴史、独立運動の軌跡、

ドキュメンタリー表現の追究を見る。

言葉では埋めることができない隔たりは、確固としてある。

マレーシアの多様性を知る教科書は

ドキュメンタリーである。

マレーシアは多言語・他人種・他宗教国家である。文化的な背景が異なる人びとが混在し刺激しあっている。

アートもそうした状況を反映し、文字通り多様な展開を見せている。

映像を使った表現は 90 年代から多発的に現れた比較的新しいジャンルである。

今回来日するマレーシアの作家たちは、現代アートの表現形式としてビデオ映像を使いこなしている。

来日マレーシア作家プロフィール

アクセス

■地下鉄地下鉄大江戸線・日比谷線六本木駅３番出口。すし好の手前を右に曲り、芋洗い坂下る。徒歩４分。■バス渋谷駅より系統番号（渋 88）／（都 01）で六本木駅下車。または（都 01折返）／（RH01折返）で六本木けやき坂下車。港区コミュニティバス「ちぃバス」六本木駅または六本木けやき坂下車。■自動車六本木交差点よりストライプハウスビル前の芋洗い坂へは、溜池・飯倉方面からのみ左折可能です。駐車場■あじさいパーキング（ストライプハウスビル隣）■六本木ヒルズ駐車場■リパーク麻布十番公共駐車場

主催：SVP2（スプレッドビデオアートプロジェクト）共催：六本木ストライプスペース助成：国際交流基金　 （財）板橋区文化・国際交流財団協力：NPO 法人・市民がつくるTVF問い合わせ：プログラムの詳細は SVP2の HPにあります。http://svp2.com/

関連企画

板橋区熱帯環境植物館「開館15 周年　マレーシア展」「マレーシアビデオ上映」作品鑑賞と解説９月20日（日）26日（土）10月3日（土）4日（日） 11日（日）12：00 ～17：00　無礼講 2009 のプログラムとは異なる「ネイチャードキュメンタリー」も上映されます。

福岡アジア美術館　あじびホール『無礼講 2009 マレーシアスペシャル　in　福岡』10月 8日（木）9日（金）10日（土）15：00 ～　　「第４回福岡アジア美術トリエンナーレ 2009」との共催。福岡に来ているホイチョンも参加予定。

関連企画の詳細は SVP2の HPにあります。http://svp2.com/

〒106-0032 東京都港区六本木 5-10-33 ストライプハウスビルhttp://striped-house.com/stripe-space.html

Kamal Sabran カマル・サブラン絵画、ビデオアート、ショートフィルム、インタラクティブ、サウンドアート、インスタレーションなどの学際的アーティスト。エレクトロプリミティブ、スペース・ガンバス・エクスペリメント、スプロールを設立。エレクトロアコースティック、実験即興音楽、メディアアートのパフォーマンスをおこなう。

Kok Siew-wai コク・シュウワイビデオアート、サウンド、ボイス・インプロビゼーション作家。米国留学中にポーリン・オリヴェロス、トニー・コンラッド、ピイア・ボーデなどの指導で「新しい」アートと出会う。イスカンダル・マレーシア・アート・ショウ２００９やチョッパ・エレクトリック・インプロバイズド・ミュージックフェス２００８（シンガポール）、ロッテルダム・フィルムフェスティバル２００７など数多くのフェスティバルに参加。チェラス・クアラルンプールにある地元作家集団シックケーエル（SiCKL) を共同設立・運営する。

Sharon Chin シャロン・チン文章と彫刻を使い特に場に固有なインスタレーション作品を作る。私たちが地理、歴史、人や言語といかに交渉を持つかを彼女の作品は観察する。マレーシアを中心にシンガポール、タイ、オーストラリアで作品を発表。伝達手法としての芸術への趣向拡大とともに最近パフォーマンスやビデオに手をのばしはじめる。国際交流基金ジェネシス企画に参加しレジデンシー・アーティストとして今年７月まで札幌に滞在。作家活動の他に執筆も行い、マレーシアと東南アジアの現代美術のポータル、アーテリ（www.arterimalaysia.com）を共同設立、運営、執筆をおこなっている。

Nur Hanim Khairuddinヌル・ハニム・カイルディンイポー市を拠点に活動する作家、キュレーター、ライター、芸術文化の促進者。1996 年以来ペラク州の芸術基金のキュレーターを務め社会事業、芸術、文芸、出版を主導する。出版会社テラタク・ヌロマーを所有し、ヴィジュアル・アート・マガジン、セントアプ(sentAp!）やアミルル・ファキアの「私の間違い」、サクラトオやスペース・ガンバスの音楽アルバムを出版している。芸術や文化についてkakiseni.com や ArtIT、Universes-in-Universeに執筆・寄稿し、展覧会に執筆者として招待されている。

Masnoor Ramli Mahmud マスヌール・ラムリー・マフムード学際的アーティストとしてシングルチャンネルやインスタレーションをビデオで制作する。人が生まれながらに持つ物語について表現したカトゥングを代表作として、彼の作品からマレーシア土着の精神的側面をかいま見ることができる。アートコレクティブ、マタハティ（MATAHATI）の一員 と し て、“MATAHATI KE MATADUNIA”（ロサンゼルス・DCA ギャラリー）“MATAHATI for your Pleasure”（クアラルンプール・ペトロナスギャラリー）“MAGER Nusantara 2004” （インドネシア）など数多くの展覧会に参加している。

地球温暖化が

怖くて

マレーシア人を

呼べるか！

２００９年10月２日（金）・３日（土）　参加費：両日共に１日１０００円　

主催：ＳＶＰ２　会場：六本木ストライプスペース

マレーシアはどこに行っても暑かった。人もアートも熱かった。

今年の無礼講には、ＳＶＰが出会ったマレーシアのビデオ作家５人が来日する。

彼らももちろん熱かった。

秋の東京にアジアンアートの熱風が吹き込む。

地球温暖化が怖くてマレーシア人を呼べるか！

無礼講マレーシアスペシャル

2 0 0 9

渋谷 溜池

飯倉

青山

交番

地下鉄　大江戸線・日比谷線六本木 3 番出口

六本木中学校

ampm

国立新美術館 東京ミッドタウン

六本木ヒルズ

ROPPONGISTRIPE’SSPACE

六本木交差点

すし好

けやき坂

芋洗い坂

92

Strolling Ota-Ward Workshop

Exploring the local culture and heritage of Ota-Ward, where Nippon Engineering College is situated. Artists ‘strolled’ the area with college students, collecting visual and cultural materials for a collaborative work. They explore video as a form of exchange with the local environment and people.

Lectures

Malaysian artists spoke about their work and video art practice at Nihon University, Itanetsu Botanical Gardens (Tokyo), Kyushu Sangyo University and Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (Fukuoka). Students, the general public and art community were able to find out more about Malaysian art and video.

“S Program” Live Performance

Kok Siew Wai, Kamal Sabran & Masnoor Ramli Mahmud collaborated with Kotaro Tanaka to create a live performance at Roppongi Stripes Space.

“M Program” Artist Presentation

Malaysian artists each gave a 30 minute presentation of their works and ideas at Roppongi Stripes Space. The audience was able to learn in-depth about contemporary art in Malaysia.

93

Itabashi Botanical Museum, Tokyo Workshop.

TOKYO, JAPAN

94

95

“I took them to the museum to show another dimension of ‘Tokyo’. We are at entrance hole, watching welcome slideshow

of history of Nori farming in Tokyo bay.” Katsuyuki Hattori Omori Nori Museum

8 October 2009

98

Sentimental pictures at Roppongi Striped Space Gallery, Tokyo.

99

100

Performance at Roppongi Striped Space Gallery, Tokyo.

101

Masnoor and Kotaro mixing up.

Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin Se(Rang)ga200311:10 min

Sato introduces artists from Malaysia at Kyushu University.

106

107

Fukuoka Tour.

108

109

110

Art Talk from Malaysian Artists at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.

111

Sharon Chin with Japanese students during a video workshop.

112

113

114

115

From left: Nur Hanim Khairuddin, Akiko Yanagida, Kamal Sabran, Kotaro Tanaka, Sharon Chin, Hiroaki Sato & Kok Siew Wai.

SESSION TWOKuala Lumpur, Perak, Penang21 July - 3 August 2010

20-Jul 10:00 - 18:00 Video Art Exhibition begins (ends 6 Aug) National Art Gallery (Galeri Reka)Tues 10:00 - 18:00 Screening Programme begins (ends 6 Aug) National Art Gallery (Auditorium) KL

23-Jul 11:00 - 13:00 Presentation at Multimedia University, CyberjayaFri Kotaro: Animation KL Sato-san: History of Video Art 16:45 Naoya Ooe arrive s Rie Saito arrives 24-Jul 10:00 Depart for Ipoh from the National Art Gallery Sat Sato Hiroaki IPOH Hattori Katsuyuki Tanaka Kotaro Nakamura Akiko Nakazawa Aki Yanagida Akiko Naoya Ooe prepares installation at the National Art Gallery 12:00 Arrive at Ipoh 16:00 Meet Director of UiTM Sri Iskandar, Perak 17:00 - 19:00 Presentation by J-artists at UiTM Sri Iskandar, Perak Crowd: art students & lecturers of UiTM Sri Iskandar, Perak 19:30 - 20:30 Rest at Guest House 20:30 Dinner & performance: Poem collaboration 25-Jul Morning Explore Ipoh Sun Visit Raja Shahriman’s studio IPOH Afternoon Depart Ipoh for Penang Evening Arrive at Penang 1926 Heritage Hotel, check-in hotel

118

26-Jul 10.30 Breakfast & Lunch @ Nino Cafe, USM Mon 11:00 Naoya Ooe, Rie Saito depart KL/arrive in Penang PEN 15:00 MJVAX Penang Opening Reception USM, Penang Presentation & workshop by J-artists Participants: students & lecturers in Art and Media, USM, Penang 18:00 Island Tour 27-Jul 10:00 Historical Walk Tues 13:30 Lunch at Kapitan Restaurant PEN 14:30 Art & Heritage Walk 28-Jul 10:30 Green Walk Wed Afternoon Lunch PEN 29-Jul 11:00 Interview with BFM radio “BU 8, Bandar Utama” Thurs 16:45 Kentaro Taki arrives in KL KL 20:00 Official Welcoming Reception at the National Art Gallery 21:00 Press Conference at the National Art Gallery 30-Jul 14:00 Presentation at House of Matahati “HOM, Ampang”Fri KL 31-Jul 20:30 Live Performance at the National Art Gallery Auditorium Sat Akiko Nakamura KL “The Ensemble, with Kotaro Tanaka” HKPT Sosound Space Gambus Experiment

119

Masnoor Ramli MahmoodKantungVideo projection, bucket, wood, water2005

122

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Opening reception of MJVAX Exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia.

124

Kok Siew Wai The Longest Night of Surviving from Losing Faith 200915min. 40sec.

125

Aki Nakazawa Negai wo hiku / Drawing wishes 20064min. 35sec.

Kentaro Taki Bild: Muell #6 “Restwelligkeit”Video projection, computer, white boxes2010

Nur Hanim KhairuddinTudung TudungVideo projection with mixed media installation2007

Hasnul J SaidonDakapMixed media painting and video projection2010

Masnoor Ramli MahmoodKantungVideo projection, bucket, wood, water2005

The Night Performance ‘Sight & Sound’ by Malaysian & Japanese Artists.31 July 2010, 8pm at National Art Gallery Auditorium.

An exciting multi-media performance night.

130

Akiko Nakamura Show. HKPT. The Ensemble with Kotaro Tanaka.

131

The Ensemble with Kotaro Tanaka. Space Gambus Experiment with Hattori. Sosound.

132

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Presentation at Uitm Sri Iskandar, Perak.

134

Night Performance and dinner at UiTM Sri Iskandar, Perak.

135

MJVAX visits Raja Shahriman’s studio.

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Playing the game of ‘congkak’ at the Penang State Museum.

142

Workshop at USM, Penang.

143

Penang heritage sites tour.

144

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Hiroaki Sato is a video artist, writer, curator and lecturer. He was born in 1962. Working with text, images and especially

video art, he is one of the founders of Spread Video Art Project 2 (SVP2). His book, “The Fightin’ Video Camera” was

published in 2008. In it, he comments on the contemporary Japanese situation of video art, documentary film, video

activism, and education. He is currently teaching in Nihon University College of Art (Department of Cinema), Nippon

Engineering College and Musashi University (Department of Sociology).

Katsuyuki Hattori (b. 1973 Tokyo) co-founded seminal video art organisations in Tokyo: Spread Videoart Project, Art Lab.

Goldenshit and Video Art Center Tokyo. Exploring various aspects of video art, he creates both representational

and non-representational video works. His works were shown in “18 Kasseler Dokumentarfilm - und Videofestes” (2001, Kasseler) “laisle.com video experimental e video arte,” (2003, Rio de Janeiro), “telepidemic! Int.” (2004, Hong Kong), “punto y raya festival 0.2”

(2007, Madrid). He was an artist in residence at Video PoolMedia Art Center (2007, Winnipeg).

MJVAX ARTISTS BIO

The Seven Samurai from Japan

148

Akiko Nakamura (b. 1969 Japan) studied Fine Art in a quite interdisciplinary manner in the United States and received her BFA degree from San Francisco Art Institute in 1997.

Currently living in Tokyo, she has used the video medium as a means of expression for the past thirteen years. Her works

have been screened and exhibited in nearly 20 cities worldwide. Parallel to making single channel works, she has organised

shows and screenings, done video performances, documented artists’ performances and conducted many artist interviews.

Kentaro Taki (b. 1973, Osaka) completed a degree in the Masters course of Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences,

Musashino Art University in 1996. He is dedicated to making art of sound and images with video technology and computers.

He is a recipient of grants from Cultural Agency of Japan (2002) and Pola Art Foundation in Karlsruhe. Germany (2003).

Now he works as a director of Video Art Center Tokyo and devotes himself to creating alternative artist networks and

innovative situations.

149

Aki Nakazawa (b.Tokyo, 1976) is a video artist and curator based in Cologne, Germany. She studied visual-media and video art at the Art College

of Nihon University. She has been a member of Spread Videoart Project since 1997. She works for international film and video festivals, institutions

and museums as a curator. As an artist, her videos show our existence in society, with her view to find subtle incidents in our life and her essential

poetic visual-language. She has shown in many international film and media-art festivals, such as Berlinale, Videonale Bonn, European Media Art Festival

Osnabrueck and awarded at WRO (1st Prize) and 13.Marler Video-Kunst-Preis.

Kotaro Tanaka (b.1979, Tokyo) is a filmmaker, VJ, part-time film lecturer

and member of Spread Videoart Project 2. He has exhibited his works in Japan

and abroad. A major theme in his works is “gazing”. He is also interested in how

to narrate “stories” without common scripts. He believes in trying to find new

narratives for cinema.

Naoya Ooe (b. 1983, Osaka) graduated from Kawaguchi Art school of Waseda University. He studied theory, filmmaking, advertising,

television, experimental cinema and movie production technology. At the same time, he was educated by Sato Makoto, one of Japan’s most

important documentary film makers at The Film School Of Tokyo. Ooe belongs to “Rhizome TV”, “design art unit NOR”, “media

performance unit MiHaRi”. He acts as video engineer for Video Art Center Tokyo and is also engaged in the production of documentary

films.

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Hasnul Jamal Saidon is Director of Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). A visual artist, curator, writer, academic and educator, he is one of central figures in the Malaysian art world. He received his formal training in fine art, from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) (1984 - 88), going on to a Bachelors in Fine Art from Southern Illinois University and MFA in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the USA. He is regarded as a pioneer in the field of new media art both as an artist and educator, locally and internationally. He has taught and headed art departments at UiTM, UNIMAS, CENFAD and USM. His essays have been published in books, exhibition catalogues, magazines, newspapers, journals, websites and seminar/conference proceedings. He was also editor of “Between Generations: 50 Years Across Modern Art in Malaysia” (with Beverly Yong, 2007).

Nur Hanim Khairuddin a Fine Arts graduate from Institut Teknologi MARA (now UiTM) (1994), is an Ipoh-based artist, curator, writer and arts and culture promoter. Since 1996 she has been Curator at Perak Arts Foundation, which coordinated “Ipoh Arts Festival” (1996-2000), and the principal mover of its social programmes and art, literary and cultural events. She has participated in various local and overseas exhibitions, and received several awards such as Major Award for “Young Contemporary” (1996) in Malaysia. Her video work ‘se(rang)ga’ has been screened in “Nafas: Contemporary Art from the Islamic World”, Berlin & Stuttgart (2006) and “Bangkok Democrazy”, the 4th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival (2005). She owns Teratak Nuromar, an independent publisher that issues “sentAp!” magazine, a visual art magazine for Malaysian art, as well as Amirul Fakir’s “Mea Culpa”, and music albums like “Sakrat” (Meor) and “Space Gambus” (Kamal Sabran and Zulkifli Ramli). She writes on arts and culture for online magazines kakiseni.com (Malaysia), ArtIT (Japan) and Universes-in-Universe (Germany), and is often invited as guest writer for exhibitions. She has curated many group and solo shows, notably by Raja Shahriman and A. Samad Said. In 2007 she received a research grant from the American Centre Foundation.

6 Jahanam from Malaysia

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Kamal Sabran is an interdisciplinary artist. His paintings, video art, short films, interactive sound art and installations have been shown at art spaces and festivals internationally. Through years of creative exploration he has collaborated with many artists, poets, photographers, designers, musicians, filmmakers, researchers and scientists. He is the founder of a group known as “Electroprimitive”, “Space Gambus Experiment” and “The Sprawl”, performing a combination of electro-acoustic, experimental-improvisation music and media arts.

Siew-wai Kok works with video art, sound and voice improvisation. She studied and lived in USA for 7 years where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Media Study at the State University of New York, Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo); and her Master of Fine Art in Electronic Integrated Arts at Alfred University. During her stay in the States, she studied with art luminaries such as Pauline Oliveros, Tony Conrad and Peer Bode, who introduced her to a whole “new world” in the arts. Siew-wai has participated in festivals such as the “Iskandar Malaysia Contemporary Art Show” 2009, “Nyoba Kan Butoh Festival” 2008, “Notthatbalai Art Festival” 2007, “Choppa Eclectic Improvised Music Festival” 2008 (Singapore), “International Film Festival Rotterdam” 2007, “Les Rencontres Internationales” Paris/Berlin/Madrid 2007 (France), “Signal & Noise” 2006 (Canada), “Beyond/In Western New York Biennial” 2005, “25hrs International Video Art Show” 2003 (Spain), “Proseminar & Student’s Digital Art Exhibition” 2003 (China) and more. Siew-wai has collaborated with video artists, dancers and musicians such as Donna Miranda, Koji Tambata, Lena Ang, Lee Swee Keong, Ng Chor Guan and more. She collaborates regularly with the Experimental Musicians & Artists Cooperative Malaysia (EMACM), as one of its members. Siew-wai is the co-founder of local artist collective Studio in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (SiCKL) and co-curator of SiCKL Open Lab series and Improv Lab @ Findars series. She is currently teaching in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, Malaysia.

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A Fine Art degree graduate from UiTM, Masnoor Ramli Mahmood held his first solo exhibition at Petronas Gallery in 2007 entitled ‘Bumi Manusia’. In 2010, “Bumi Manusia Revisited” was shown for the second time at Penang State Gallery. As a multi-disciplinary artist, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions including “Malay TV”, a video art show in University of Science Malaysia Penang, ‘Timelines’ in National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur and “IMCAS” in Johor Baharu. He has also exhibited his works abroad like ‘Matahati Ke Matadunia’ in the USA, “Changing Phases” in Vietnam, “OK Video” in Indonesia, “oneminutes video” under UNICEF and European Cultural Foundation and “Kata Di Kota” in Havana, Cuba. Together with his collective group MATAHATI, he was involved in the “Matahati Ke Matadunia” show in DCA Gallery Los Angeles, “MATAHATI for your Pleasure” show in Petronas Gallery Kuala Lumpur, “Mager Nusantara” 2004 in Indonesia and “Mager Project”, “2nd Tupada International Action Art Festival 2005” in Philippines. Masnoor was awarded a Travelling Grant for Petronas Nusantara Expedition in 2006 and received Honourable Mention at the Philip Morris Malaysian Art awards in 1994 and 1995.

Sharon Chin was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1980. She studied Fine Arts in New Zealand and Australia (Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland 2001, BFA Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne 2003). Working with a variety of media, her work looks at how we negotiate geography, history, human relations and language in the contemporary imagination. Recently she has been experimenting with performance and video (especially mobile phone video) to explore art as a communication strategy. She writes regularly on art and is co-founder and managing editor of ARTERI (www.arterimalaysia.com), an online portal focusing on contemporary art in Malaysia and South East Asia.

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LOOKING BACK MJVAX 2010

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Introduction

SATO: Everyone, you must be tired from the Malaysian tour. Though a lot happened, lets look back at some of the memorable events. I will explain how and why this tour happened in an appendix, so lets narrow down to sets of episode in Malaysia for now. You can start from the preparation period too.

TAKI: I enjoyed touring with members rarely in one boat even in Japan. Lately, I hadn’t been able to put a show in Japan and for some time we had no chance to work only with video artists, didn’t we?

SATO: As it worked out, I think touring with this party was successful. Last year, many artists took part in the presentation for this tour. Selection was finally made with Malaysian side’s consideration, or with Naguib’s reply, because he was also at the presentation. When actual itinerary was announced, many practical issues came out, like duration, lecture handling, and as-yet decided things. But we were members capable of divvy up and respond to such matters. Exchange like a marriage hunting, you will invite various biases.

TAKI: Being responsive to troubles is important, isn’t it?

SATO: When someone in a team makes some blunder or hasty change, nothing resolves by beefing. For this tour too, I wanted to proceed in friendly atmosphere as much as possible. Though a lot happened this time, I am truly thankful for all responded flexibly.

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NAKAZAWA: I regarded you all as “grown up” artists. We were a team that could flexible to any situation and even enjoy happenings. To put it better, I glimpsed creativity in it.

TAKI: On the exhibition, showing both installations and single channel works in the same project was a rare case. It’s rare even in Japan except exhibition on broad scale. The encounter between Malaysians whose video art will develop from now on and Japanese, who have kept working on video art in Tokyo, was also interesting.

SATO: We didn’t consider ourselves representatives of Japan. We happened to lay a hand on video art at the same period and thereafter we kept screening video art in Spread Video Art Project and Video Art Center Tokyo. It doesn’t represent the Japanese movement, rather we brought individual motivations together and happened to be tied up as an international exchange. It was like a shotgun marriage.

TAKI: That’s the best way, I think. When you try to do exchange like a marriage hunting, you will invite various biases.

HATTORI: I agree. Delivering both installation and screening was nice. Even that didn’t start from a purpose, and it wasn’t like “we want an exhibition at any cost”. Because there was relationship at first, then the exhibition was born as it’s extension.

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Boundary between art and documentary

TAKI: Though I didn’t know a root cause, it was interesting to know that the initial motivator was not video art but Yamagata Documentary Film Festival. We must report this to Ms. Asako Fujioka. I also found Mr. Sato’s position in video art scene is interesting. When Mr. Oe and I had a presentation at 12 Art Space, Roopesh discussed on topic “Documentary or Video art?” That time questions flocked to Mr. Oe. “How come did you start from documentary and come to video art?” Because we are familiar with Matsumoto Toshio’s works and writings, we understand that both are on the same horizon. We have been thinking our stance was natural, but this project became a good chance to re-verbalize and be reminded of the “Art or Documentary” issue.

HATTORI: Mr. Sato, you also started from documentary making. I remember your first work was a documentary.

SATO: Yes, it was a documentary of a Butoh dancer. Luckily in my case, while I studied video art at university, in the same research room there was a professor studying documentary films. So I could develop my interest in both fields since my early stage.

TAKI: Though, essentially, there is no borderline, in this world they draw a line in between. In my interpretation, actually there are three categories; contemporary art works using video, video art works, and documentaries. But the lines are drawn arbitrarily.

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SATO: I feel 60’s Japanese artists had less barriers than today. Matsumoto Toshio was no doubt. For Shinsuke Ogawa too, documentary happened to be his exit, but he also directed narrative films. A cameraman Masaki Tamura, Kazuo Kuroki and young Nagisa Oshima were all the same, right? They moved in and out flexibly, as they were experimenting in movie making. Now, there are more walls made by audience against styles. For example, there seems to be preconceived ideas “a video activist means problem conscious documentarist”. Malaysian artists we met this time, they had various problem consciousness on both racial and social issues. Their installations, or single channel works, I suspect, were based on that consciousness. In Japan too, I think younger artists are more open to such ideas.

NAKAZAWA: Speaking of Matsumoto Toshio, he was one of the first people to use the term “EIZOUSAKKA”. I think, this definition of an artist title is an original aspect of Japanese video art and film scene and it’s very interesting. I referred to this topic in a lecture at USM, too. The technical boundary between video and film today is unclear. In film industry today, it’s become usual to use video in their productions. That is to say a meaning of titles “film-maker” and “video-artist” is becoming indefinite. In such a situation, I think, the time has come to reconsider “what we are doing”. I was impressed that Sharon responded to this topic and I realised that other Japanese members have been actually using the title “EIZOUSAKKA” for themselves in Japan.

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SATO: I am aware there are boundary problems within contemporary art. I felt this event in Malaysia was precisely a moment when such boundary melted. If I think of a couple of reasons why such was accomplished, firstly it would be because all artists faced with each other open-mindedly, and secondly because the hosting frameworks were open at both in Malaysia and Japan.

TAKI: That was, probably because main three (Sato, Hattori, and Tanaka) had gradually Malaysianised.

HATTORI: Were we Malaysianised insidiously?

TANAKA: Frankly, I think the audience couldn’t tell such boundaries. If works were on a monitor, they felt like watching a TV programme.

SATO: I think there was synchronicity among artists. Though they took different stances, I sensed common awareness that they make video works in this era.

HATTORI: I was glad that Ms. Nakamura completed her latest work in KL.

NAKAMURA: Let’s talk about it bit later.

TAKI: Viewers define aside from artists’ stance. Like, this person is not an artist but an activist. Mass media follow them because it’s easier to introduce. Critics and their stances are important as well, only few observe art scene multilaterally. Ms. Sato, how did you see this event?

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Official Ceremony

TANAKA: Speaking of hosting frame work, I enjoyed the official ceremony.

TAKI: Me too.

NAKAMURA: I vividly remember the official ceremony. As if it were the main event. “Official event is very important.” This was the message I got.

SATO: You mean specifically the opening reception at National Art Gallery, and as well welcoming ceremony at UiTM lecture. Right? They were certainly shocking. I suspect Naguib had an intention to register this event as an official Malaysian event. For us, having a show at National Art Gallery was indeed thankful, but rather we were hoping the event to be held at a gallery or free space in town. Because Naguib played up with political aspect of Malaysia, I think he considered that the event would be more recognised by going through formal protocol at National Art Gallery.

NAKAZAWA: For long time, I have been thinking our activities were “underground“ (laughs). But in Malaysia we were introduced as major artists. I enjoyed that gap.

TAKI: Since there were many press people, I want to know how we were introduced. You want to see the published materials, don’t you?

SATO: I asked for a copy, but it hasn’t arrived yet. How about the radio recording?

HATTORI: Ms. Nakazawa and I were featured on a radio program. We talked with Richard Bradbury of BFM radio. Though I made a pitch with all my might..., I haven’t got a copy yet.

NAKAZAWA: In fact, that is true. I guess he forgot to.

MMU

HATTORI: One hour bus drive from KL, there is a city named Cyber Jaya, where IT companies are attracted in bulk. Multi Media University is located in the city and Siew Wai works there. Mr. Tanaka talked at this university because students there were mostly majoring in animation.

TAKI: How was the students’ reaction?

TANAKA: Their understanding of animation is that it is something drawn by hand on sheets. I was told beforehand that my target audience would be students learning animation. So I brought classic animation works too. Those works by Georges Schwizgebel and Norman Mclaren. Including my animation works, I presented them in two groupings: “drawing” and “stop-motion”. At the end, I showed a piece made by BLU, an Italian graphic team. They drew directly on street walls and roofs and made it into stop motion animation. Its scale was so big. After showing this, Siew Wai told me that the contrast was very good, because just before my talk students took a classic animation class that defines “animation was drawn by hand on sheets”.

TAKI: It means the diversity was obvious, doesn’t it?

TANAKA: Students themselves categorised in that way too. I was not sure they just didn’t know, or didn’t want to know. For example, there is a Malaysian animation, like Wong Hoy Cheong’s “dog hole”, that combine live-action and animation. I love such piece, so I wonder if they have watched it or not.

HATTORI: But students showed practical face as well. They raised questions like, “can you live on making experimental pieces?” Or “What does ‘gazing’ mean in Mr. Tanaka’s context?” Those that Mr. Tanaka was muddled up to reply.

TANAKA: I didn’t tell them concepts of my art practice. But topic shifted to relationship between “vision” and “gazing”, I was surprised so that I replied “how do you know my concepts?” Might somebody handed out written materials?

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ART SCENE in Malaysia

SATO: What kind of impression did you have, Mr. Oe?

OE: For one thing, I was delighted by hospitable welcome by all on-site. Even when I arrived in Penang, Wening Cheah of N.A.G. picked me up at the airport. My first impression was that I was taken care of in various ways.

SATO: That maybe because Naguib made this exchange as formal event by including N.A.G. That was his achievement.

OE: Naguib helped me a lot in setting up my installation. And I appreciated it very much.

NAKAMURA: At the end, he came to KL airport and said that he was sorry about not being able to do much as he wanted to.

TAKI: It seems that Malaysian side was not monolithic.

NAKAMURA: But all other artists said, all the while they didn’t know each other well, so they were happy to work together for MJVAX.

SATO: It seems there were many problems on Malaysian side. But with this string of events, artists who didn’t work together before became a team. I think that is one of the accomplishments. It seems our intermediation triggered it as well. They spent time in Tokyo as if in a training camp. And they become the nucleus of this time. They were a team and not divided in a group of Malay or Chinese. That was interesting for us, and seems like it was new for them as well.

OE: On Malaysian works, beginning with Nur Hanim’s piece, they were very straightforward. Though the most difficult piece was Hasnul’s, I wanted to find more like his that are incomprehensible. When I toured galleries in KL, I found most of them very straightforward.

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NAKAZAWA: In my impression, Malaysian installations told me very clearly. In the video of Nur Hanim’s, a woman tries to tell something, but she can’t or isn’t allowed to verbalise it. I suppose, it is a piece about a female situation in Islamic society. It’s possessed by something like looming psychokinesis but also very elegant piece. In Hasnul’s piece, I feel his own struggles. While he pays his respect to society, circumstance, tradition and all that nurtured him, yet he is still bounded by them. And also I see difficulty and toughness of living with such a contradiction. But those elements were put together into a very simple and beautiful form, this was very impressive. However, I noticed that it was his piece after I came back from Penang... I regret that I lost a great chance to question him in detail.

NAKAMURA: Were there some traditional paintings?

TAKI: There were places showing works of such category, like traditional crafts. I felt many things were jumbled up in the contemporary art scene, including copies of existing artists. Maybe, such genres are divided too much in Japanese art scene, aren’t they?

SATO: We also watched young artists’ works in Penang. I think those were jumbled as well. Like, some do ink-wash painting, some was extremely abstract, some did graffito, I had an impression that various influences were directly visible. They were like a graduate works of an art academy. They were like juvenile expressions.

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NAKAMURA: USM Museum had a such great diversity. It really got to me. I loved astroroom. Hasnul told me he wanted to deal with both science and art. Its homemade-looks added more charm. There were everything from fossils of early man to a space ship.

HATTORI: By completing rooms under expansion last year, the gallery grew even bigger.

SATO: I get emails from the museum once in a while, and they focused on kids program as well. I find their concept very amusing. They invited children to the university and tour the museum.

HATTORI: When we visited, groups of students were laying down and collaborating. Though it was an university class, I remembered it well. They use the museum not just as an exhibition space but also as a work space.

SATO: On big piece of paper, students drew their own past and future.

TAKI: It must be functioning as a local community center.

HATTORI: That can only be accomplished with Hasnul’s leadership. Young staffs were like busy bees.

SATO: Between Hasnul and staffs, they had close kinship, like a boss and his henchmen. At the lecture hall, though staffs already prepared 200+ chairs beautifully, with his one voice, they took them all away. He said students would defocus quickly if they sat on chairs.

HATTORI: We entered the hall for preparation and were discussing placement of our chairs. Because the layout had very university like formal feel. So, I asked Hasnul about usual seats arrangement, he told me “if students sit on chair, they will last only for 20 mins.” And while we were having lunch, all chairs were gone. I was sorry for staffs, but they did it so quick.

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Nation and Regulation called Malaysia

SATO: What kind of impression did you have, Ms. Nakamura?

NAKAMURA: Because I went Malaysia without prior knowledge, I was expecting a condition more similar to Indonesia. (The two share similar language.) But actually, but no wonder, it was quite unique, and I was surprised in many ways. Well to start with what would it be... It was totally unmixed, beginning with Malay and Chinese, I just felt like they lived apart from each other. Thus, it was incredibly multi-lingual society, and I found it very interesting. Siew Wai and Sharon could speak 4 to 5 different languages, and I heard that typically people could speak at least three. So among Malaysians, they chose one language according to their speech partner: like one to speak in English, Mandarin or Malay. First I thought this condition was bipolar of ours in Japan, but by contraries, I felt maybe this was similar because in Japanese language we also change first person, second person and honorific according to a speech partner. When Siew Wai told me “We don’t think in one language. We try to get answer in different language. Thus, we can’t master any one language,” it was striking for me. But it also made me think about Japanese language.

NAKAZAWA: I agree. I had mixed feelings by watching a society divided into each race. I had heard that it was a mixed-race nation, but wasn’t actually. Though it is coexistence maybe, they live separately. Also, the language situation was interesting. I wondered, how could their thinking progress? In which language? I asked this question to Sharon, and she said with laughing “Yeah, I wonder, too.” On the other hand, this situation could be a big hint for me to live in a circumstance where I don’t speak my mother tongue, Japanese daily. Now I’ve got a confidence about my actual condition.

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SATO: I also thought about relation between regulation of country and people living. In Japan as well, beginning of Meiji government, from our religion to life guidance, newregulations were issued that drastically changed our life styles. But in reality, they did not penetrate through all local areas. There were people living with their own rules. We visited demolished Pudu Prison, didn’t we? A market nearby was amazing. Though the national religion of Malaysia is Islam, in the market vigorous Chinese people were selling pork, duck, and fish, all together. Opening meat side by side. There were big Buddhist temple, Hindu temple, and Church in each racial neighborhood. I found such coexistence was interesting.

TAKI: Historically, there was a major racial struggle. There is a censorship to hide these histories. I don’t know specifics of the censorship, but I guess they censor issues like racial problems and prostitutions. I think the government worries another confrontation may break out by problems becoming public.

HATTORI: Advocating “one malaysia,” Sharon’s dad was preaching Masnoor “I respect you, but an artist must have no taboos, and must initiate a change!” Sharon was rattled and defending Masnoor, as a friend.

SATO: He achieved a restaurant franchise in one generation, and throughout his carrier he has been facing this as a real problem. “Our problems won’t be taken as a national problem.” “It will be turned into Chinese problem,” “Please resolve them within Chinese society”, such climate may still exist today.

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Possibility of Collaboration

NAKAMURA: How was Malacca, though I couldn’t attend?

TANAKA: I exercised in my performance with newly developed application “Xavieriser”.

HATTORI: Previous night, including Mr. Sato, three of us had a discussion. And concluded “It can’t be the same as the KL performance. Tomorrow, Mr. Tanaka must do somethingnew.” Well then, he started to think of new video application.

NAKAMURA: Why “Xavieriser”?

TANAKA: Because I was in Malacca.

HATTORI: Easy. There was St. Xavier Chapel.

SATO: Including Tokyo event last year, Mr. Tanaka did most of collaborative works with Malaysian artists.

TANAKA: At the time of Tokyo, I was very conscious about doing it “right”. We discussed on themes beforehand, had an outline, then we met and worked together. We had enough material gathered based on individual concept. That was more acceptable. I am not saying this time was “not right”. Though we agreed on “do things together”, elements in the improvisation were too much. Also in performance this time, nothing was decided beforehand.

NAKAMURA: Using Illustrator in real time was also an improvisation?

TANAKA: Though I didn’t tell them, I made up my mind beforehand. Do things I never have done before. I was lucky to take part in two different performances.

NAKAMURA: You didn’t use a video camera that Naguib prepared.

TANAKA: I used it in the 2nd one. I only had a brief dialogue with Kamal in the bus on the road. I was thinking what to do after that. Actually, I had little materials for the performance in my laptop.

NAKAMURA: I enjoyed a video made with Illustrator. Do you think audience knew you are drawing on the location?

TANAKA: I guess they knew.

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SATO: I think the relation between dance and other elements is pretty difficult.

NAKAMURA: Dance, video, music and voice, with such various elements, it must be difficult.

TANAKA: It’s difficult, when only elements been placed in unfocused condition.

SATO: Each artist can do something. But, “react to what?” Even an improvisation needs an outline. So Kamal’s performance was, because his core was music, everybody could react and focus.

NAKAMURA: I thought, Mr. Tanaka’s decision, not to shoot dancers, was interesting.

TANAKA: At first, I had an idea using it as my source video, but I decided not to during the rehearsal.

SATO: I think improvisation will go wrong when each participant becomes overconfident. Like expecting someone will give me a cue, or I am giving it. When such balance go off the track, it will go wrong. I think at least a track is necessary.

TAKI: I think improvisation is especially difficult for a dancer. Though a musician can see and hear what’s going on on a stage, a dancer can’t. He has now fixed view points on stage. So he relies on his own method, then he tends to do his routine.

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NAKAMURA: One alternative is to make dancers the focus of a performance.

HATTORI: Near the end of Kamal’s performance, someone suddenly started to dance in audience seats. His unexpected movement was interesting to me. Though I was surprised at first sight, watching him for a while, I figured he was actually a dancer. I think Kamal’s stage had such clear structure.

TANAKA: If you have a clear structure, then some can get off track from the stage.

SATO: I think improvisation is something like a “fracture”. It has a form, but there are also parts almost broken, and anyone can break it anytime, in anyway. Such has been staged, anybody can start to drift.

TAKI: You can think that way because Kamal’s performance was mostly music.

NAKAZAWA: Hmmm... I was not inclined to improvisation, but I am attracted and interested in it recently. So all performances were very helpful for me. I learned a lot. Thanks for the instruction!

HATTORI: Talking about improvisation, I started to think our tour was improvisational overall.

NAKAMURA: Wonderful wrap up!

SATO: Well then, Mr. Hattori please wrap up beautifully.

HATTORI: I was at ease throughout this tour. Looking back in the past, I tried to do too much by myself, and bobbed up and down. But this time, both Malaysian and Japanese members contributed in various ways, and I guess that worked very well.

TAKI: Regarding to exhibition and screening, I think we should have asked for more. Like DVD was not playing right, or screening schedule was not set. Considering our relationship from now on, I think those were things we should let them know.

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SATO: It was not clear to whom National Art Gallery was presenting MJVAX. I had an impression the exhibition was held for those involved, and not so much for the audience. “If the official opening was done right, everything is OK!”, so I felt. I regret that I should have planed an extended screening programme. In it, somebody talk after each screening program. By doing so, N.A.G. might have given a bit more efforts on our screening programme as the hosting organisation.

HATTORI: When we arrived in KL, we should have arranged a time to meet and have lunch with all staffs involved in MJVAX. We were not in relationship to let them know what our exchange was all about.

SATO: It was even better if we could make “let’s do it together” atmosphere. I guess whole picture of this event was not infiltrated enough among the gallery staffs. Though there were so many happenings. We must thank all the Malaysian artists who put their efforts despite their busy days, and Mohd Naguib Razak and Hasnul J Saidon who arranged events and lectures, and Kyoko Kugai who took care of us for almost entire duration of the trip.

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Acknowledgement

Ahmad Fuad OsmanAidira KhaidirAkiko Nakamura Ambassador Dato’ Mohd Yusof AhmadAnuar AyobArikawa Shigeo Ashikaga Hiroshi Au Sow YeeAzuma EijiBontansuiCititel ExpressDavid ChinDavid LimDato’ Mohamed Najib Ahmad DawaEbihara Shuko Ekram Al-HafisFaculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia UniversityFadly SabranFahmi RezaFaizal ZulkifliFukuda TadaakiFunakubo Toshikazu Fukushima KimioGoh Lee KwangHAN Sung NamHarada Ippei Hayashi NaoyaHirayama RyoHKPTInoue Kouichi

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Kaneshiro YuukiKawabe RyotaKawabe Ryota Kawanaka Nobuhiro Kimura KeitaKoon TanKrash PadKristine Nilsen OmaKugai KyokoKuroda Raiji Kuroiwa Toshiya Kotaro TanakaMaeda YoshihiroMatahati HOMMatsuura JinMiyazaki JunMochida Takeshi Mohamad Majidi Amir & The Exhibition CrewsMorioka Chiori Muhammad Colmann AbdullahNadiah BamadhajNaguib RazakNakajima Yusuke Nakakuki AkihitoNishikawa TomonariNishimura Akinari Nishiyama ShuheiNor Laila Abd. Rozak@RazakNoor Azizan PaimanNovista Sdn. Bhd.

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Okuno KunitoshiOng Boon KeongRaja ShahrimanRoopesh SitharanSafinawati SamsudinSaito RieSakai KazueSakurai Atsushi Sato Fumiro Sato MinoruSato Taku Sato Toshiro School of the Arts, USMShimano Yoshitaka Simon SoonSiCKL (Studio in Cheras, KL)SosoundSoon Choon MeeSpace Gambus Experiment

Takahashi Eiki Tanaka Masayasu Tanaka MihoTCLiewTengku Azahari Tengku AzizanThe Ensemble with Kotaro TanakaTsukahara TakuyaUiTM Sri IskandarUtida Ritsuko Vincent LeongWening CheahWong Hoy CheongYokota Masashi Yong YandsenYura Yasuto Zanita Anuar12 ArtSpace

Paper Cuttings

Metro Ahad, 1 August 2010.

senikini #8, 2010.