Between Ground and Sky

08/12/2023

5 poems. 5 art songs. And now, 5 short films!

Directed by renowned Singaporean photographer and videographer Khoo Guo Jie, this series of films responds to five poems by Malaysian-American poet Shirley Geok-lin Lim that were set to music by Singaporean composer Tan Tiag Yi in the eponymous song cycle Between Ground and Sky. While Lim’s poems span the two cities of Singapore and Hong Kong, Khoo’s films are deliberately all set in Singapore and hence interrogate how Lim’s work, so often described as transnational, speaks to contemporary Singapore society. The scenes of the films draw upon footage from diverse sources, including pictures of Lim’s own Peranakan embroidery collection, archival videos from our live performance in April, and new movement work shot in striking yet quotidian architectural spaces in Singapore. Together, Khoo’s films creatively engage with different facets of Singapore’s environment to tell the stories, dreams and reflections of Lim’s poetry and Tan’s music in both familiar and new light.

This project is kindly supported by the National Arts Council, the Tote Board Arts Fund, and the National Youth Council Young ChangeMakers Grant.

19/10/2023

🎉THEY'RE UP!!🎉

We're really happy to launch our films online! Directed by renowned Singaporean photographer and videographer Khoo Guo Jie, this series of films responds to five poems by Malaysian-American poet Shirley Geok-lin Lim that were set to music by Singaporean composer Tan Tiag Yi in the eponymous song cycle Between Ground and Sky. While Lim’s poems span the two cities of Singapore and Hong Kong, Khoo’s films are deliberately all set in Singapore and hence interrogate how Lim’s work, so often described as transnational, speaks to contemporary Singapore society.

The scenes of the films draw upon footage from diverse sources, including pictures of Lim’s own Peranakan embroidery collection, archival videos from our live performance in April, and new movement work shot in striking yet quotidian architectural spaces in Singapore. Together, Khoo’s films creatively engage with different facets of Singapore’s environment to tell the stories, dreams and reflections of Lim’s poetry and Tan’s music in both familiar and new light.

This project is kindly supported by the National Arts Council Singapore, the Tote Board Arts Fund, and the National Youth Council Singapore Young ChangeMakers Grant.

S. GL. Lim Tiag Yi Tan Khoo Guo Jie Chin Ying Wu

Directed by renowned Singaporean photographer and videographer Khoo Guo Jie, this series of films responds to five poems by Malaysian-American poet Shirley G...

06/10/2023

Throwback to our showing at Esplanade's eXchAnge series in June! 6 shows over 3 evenings ✅✅✅🤓

We had so much fun presenting Shirley Geok-lin Lim's poetic world in these varied forms. Recited poetry, a live performance of the OG song cycle, paired with 's five short film responses on screen 📚✨📽🎶

Thank you Christel for the invitation and lots of gratitude to all the Esplanade staff for helping each iteration of our show run so smoothly!

For those who missed this show, we'll be launching our films online very soon 👀👀👀 Stay tuned for the launch date!

21/06/2023

✨🎈🔥 We are doing a thing this weekend as part of eXchAnge at the Esplanade Concourse! With short films directed by , the song cycle will be performed live by .yongen and interspersed with poetry readings by ._.cy and, albeit recorded, Shirley Geok-lin Lim herself!! 😱

The films are shot in Singapore and feature scenes of our city-state along with movement by .yongen, short clips from our live performance ft ._.cy, and artefact photos of Peranakan embroidered fabrics from Shirley's very own collection.

Thu & Fri, 22 & 23 June
7.15pm & 8.15pm

Sat, 24 June
6.15pm & 7.15pm

28/04/2023

27/04/2023

He has funky hair, but does he write funky music? This is Tiag Yi, our composer and co-curator. Come to witness the premiere of his song cycle! 🎶🌿🎻

TAN Tiag Yi is a composer, violinist and arts administrator. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Music with First Class Honours at St Anne’s College, University of Oxford in 2021, where he studied composition with Professor Martyn Harry and violin with Caroline Balding. For his piece Cross Sections, Tiag Yi was awarded Special Commendation at the 2021 Henfrey Prize for Composition. He also received First Prize at the 2021 Benslow Young Composers’ Competition (19-25 years category) for his setting of Charlotte Mew’s I So Liked Spring. As a violinist, Tiag Yi is a founding member of Duo Tarenna, a violin-viola duo based in Singapore championing uncharted repertoire. Through his compositions, Tiag Yi explores the semiotic resonances of sounds, especially their plural and multifarious connections to diverse musical traditions. While composition might often be considered a solitary activity, he hopes to pursue collaboration further both within and outside of music in the future. He is excited by the possibilities offered through the unexpected intersections of disciplines and how ideas may be translated from one to another.

📸

26/04/2023

"Touching down, I’ve touched a nerve from another life. Everywhere

is new and strange-familiar when there is nothing to return to.

Every house mine, every street my street, every man my husband,

every place the last place I’d lived in. I’d never thought this

lingering question odd. Why not? I could have been the waitress

in Paris, bored, weary of summer as she serves. Or the New Delhi

matron, wondering, is it jasmine sprays or marigold punk she

smells between bites of naan? An English woman asking for tea

and telly. Amnesiac, I sight ordinary inhabitants: not my own

oneiric self, settling with no memory, an immigrant story."

- "No Place" by Shirley Geok-lin Lim, published in "Walking Backwards" (West End Press, 2010)

26/04/2023

Don't be shy to reach out! ☺️❣️

We're partnering with beneficiaries from The Little Arts Academy, the Intercultural Theatre Institute and secondary school performing arts groups to provide sponsored tickets for students & folks who are keen to come but are facing financial hesitation. If you need a ticket, or if you are an educator and know students who would be keen to come, please DM us!

If you cannot make it for the show but would like to sponsor a ticket, please also reach out 😊

24/04/2023

FIVE DAYS TO SHOW. To our Mandarin-reading audience, we got featured in Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 this weekend! Have a read ☺️