Contemporary Asian art is informed by the past but shaped by the Orient of the present; a high tech, globalised melting pot bursting with quirky food, fashion and fetish.
The world is in the cradle of the Asian century; China, having spent much of the 19th century insulated from the outside world, has emerged from hibernation and is now growing like an angry Bruce Banner. On the sub-continent, India, bustling with Bollywood blockbusters, aims to extend its cultural reach beyond cricket and curry. Australia, nestled as we are in the very bosom of mother Asia, must embrace the perspectives and insights of our regional neighbours. In its tenth year, Adelaide’s unique OzAsia Festival programme is like a Yum-Cha banquet; the ravenous could gorge themselves while even the fussiest gluten-intolerant vegan will find at least one tray of organic steamed Bok Choy to feast on. Festival Director Joseph Mitchell challenges audiences to head along to five shows during the festival in Adelaide. Mitchell provides his thoughts on some of the tasty pork dumplings we have plucked from the steaming OzAsia programme; a programme which features 35 Australian premieres.
Split Flow and Holistic Strata - Hiroaki Umeda
Japan’s Hiroaki Umeda is “pushing the boundaries of contemporary dance”. “This choreographer, he didn’t have a choreographic style and then project images on top of it; he really started from zero, he created a pixelated technology, he created the soundscape and he created the choreography; all of those things simultaneously together so that that they are completely integrated. He has created his own choreographic language and you see a movement like no other choreography that you have ever seen and it is absolutely stunning. There’s stuff that happens in that show that your eyes can’t believe.”SK!N - TERRYANDTHECUZ
This joint production from Malaysia and Australia places audiences into the shoes of refugees caught in the horror of human trafficking. “This piece puts you in the position of what it may be like to be a refugee doing whatever you can to get to another country. It is a very different experience where you go to a starting point, which is the Maj Gallery, and then some of the audience is segregated (put into holding pens), some get led down some alley, everyone has to fill in processing forms and give over their wallets and keys. Anything can happen; what I need to get better at is saying that it’s not a horrible experience; you do have to pay money and hopefully people will enjoy the experience, but it’s a very different experience.”
Sub-verse - 2-day festival of electronic and experimental music
Adelaide’s finest sonic explorers are matched with some of Asia’s emerging superstars for a two- day voyage into the outer realms of musical experimentation. “We created this two-night concert where we brought in internationals and paired them with locals. Shao (from Beijing); to get him to play Nexus which holds about 250 people; he was like “I play to 5,000 people and get paid this much money; that’s just what I do.” Adelaide audiences will have the opportunity to witness artists in an environment that Asian audiences could only dream about.Bunny - Daniel Koek and Luke George
Bunny, from Singapore, gives audiences the opportunity to untie some of the taboos surrounding fetish by actively participating in group rope bondage. “Bunny is a very small audience of between 80 and 100 people… If bondage makes you nervous or it’s a little bit distant from you, the most difficult thing is to physically buy the ticket and walk through the door. What this show does is it actually breaks down people’s perceptions as to what is bondage and you actually see the beauty and art in knot tying and rope tying, you see the relationship between the two guys in terms of power and submissive, but essentially that two-hour event becomes a participatory experience that involves the audience… It’s fun, playful and accepting and makes you feel really warm hearted.”
© Bernie NgOutdoor Concert Series
“We have ten nights of free international music programming which is part of our ten-year anniversary celebrations. We ended up with about 22 major international bands performing for free on that big stage. We’ve got acts like Wonfu from Taiwan who are this really cool pop-rock alternative band and Cosmic Cambodia who are this big, huge theatrical 60s rock thing; we did Wedance who are this underground electronic duo and Danpyunsun and the Sailors who are quite famous in Korea.” Also, check out Hong Kong’s Justin Bieber, Jabin Law.OzAsia Festival runs from 17 September-2 October.
