REFUSE
by Yuen Chee Wai
Yuen Chee Wai
I am part of a music group/collective called The Observatory and we have been producing music and art for the past 21 years. In recent years we have taken to researching into a more bio and nature informed way of art-making. I am co-artistic directors with 2 other members of the group. We are currently learning how to organise a bio related camp/workshop/sharing in our space in Singapore to encourage more like minded practitioners and interested parties to get together and foster a bigger community.
The Observatory
Far from silent and objective as its name suggests - is a band whose music and cultural ethos is to respond and speak back to the contemporary afflictions in Singapore and the global milieu. Its current constellation comprises multi-instrumentalists Cheryl Ong, Dharma and Yuen Chee Wai who tread on improvisation, inter-media experimentation and noise-adjacent territories. In confronting new forms of disorders, The Observatory restlessly turns upon itself to agitate, to comfort and to resist.
Drawing on old and new lexicons, The Observatory seeks to bridge artists and expressions. Two decades on, the band’s polymath practice encompasses music and performance; in-person festivals and online radio shows; touring gigs and interdisciplinary exhibitions.
Contact info
Email: wai [at] theobservatory [dot] com [dot] sg
Singapore-based experimental band The Observatory presents REFUSE, an inter-media exhibition about music, mushrooms and de-composition.
The exhibition combines mycology design (Bewilder), scenography installation (Sai aka Chen Sai Hua Kuan), archive arrangement (Ujikaji), moving image (Yeo Siew Hua) and guest curation (Tang Fu Kuen). REFUSE draws on the band’s past and present influences, bringing together their interests in fungi and mycelial networks to explore the twin ideas of decomposition and composition from biological and musical perspectives. The presentation comprises a time-based installation space and archive, and speaks to The Observatory’s constantly evolving methodologies, the communities that surround them, as well as their important place in the Singapore music scene.
REFUSE is conceived by The Observatory Cheryl Ong, Dharma and Yuen Chee Wai).
Guest Curator: Tang Fu Kuen
Fungi: Ganoderma multipileum, Ganoderma lingzhi (3 strains), Ganoderma neo-japonicum, Pleurotus citrinopileatus, Agaricus blazei, Agaricus bisporus (petri dishes), Pleurotus djamor (time lapse), Poromycena manipularis (time lapse)
Mycological Design Studio: Bewilder (Ng Sze Kiat, Michaela Wong and Caroline Woon)
Scenography Installation: Sai (aka Chen Sai Hua Kuan)
Moving Image Director: Yeo Siew Hua
Reimagining Archives: Ujikaji
Exhibition Lighting Designer Andy Lim
Sound Technologists: Lynette Quek and Chok Si Xuan
Production Manager: Kimberly Kwa
Technical Management and Installation: ARTFACTORY
Exhibition Build: SPACElogic
Moving Image Producer: Dan Koh (Incantation Films)
Archives Research Assistant: Rafi Abdullah
Time Lapse Video Producer: Juan Qi An
Archives Video Editor: Eric Qooo
Mindmap Designer: Debbie Ding
Laser Burning: LionsForge
Special thanks: Asian Film Archive, Midnight Shift, National Arts Council, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, Roger&Sons, Shaw Organisation Pte Ltd.
TAMAT (moving image) includes found footage of a mouldy and timeworn reel of P. Ramlee’s film Seniman Bujang Lapok (The Nitwit Movie Stars, 1961, Malay Film Productions Ltd.)
Courtesy of: The Shaw Organisation Pte Ltd
Source: Asian Film Archive
