_{Image courtesy of Tan Ngiap Heng}

Interview: Susan Yeung How Wah

 

Luca Curci talks with the artist Susan Yeung How Wah during RITUALS of ANIMA MUNDI festival 2017 in VENICE.

Susan Yeung How Wah (Singapore/Hong Kong) graduated with MA in Arts Pedagogy and Practice from Goldsmiths, University of London, as well as BA(Hons) Music from Kingston University (England) and LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. She was also awarded City Contemporary Dance Company Prize upon graduation at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2002. Susan has choreographed and performed internationally since 1998, and frequently serves as assessor, adjudicator, consultant, presenter and mentor for professional companies and universities, as well as national competitions and festivals since 2002. As the Associate Producer of COLLECTIVE mayhem, Susan has produced her works for local and overseas festivals since 2005. In 2007 she became the show choreographer for Xsystem Entertainment, and was being featured in newsprint as the “Uprising artist in Singapore dance scene in 2010“.

In 2015, Susan was the chairperson for Small Company and Independent Artist Showcase of World Dance Alliance Singapore Chapter, in addition to her role as the artistic and rehearsal director for Singapore Tertiary Showcase of da:ns festival the same year. Currently a Lecturer-in-charge of BA(Hons) Dance and Diploma Dance programmes in LASALLE College of the Arts, Susan has been the artistic and rehearsal Director for LASALLE’s major productions since 2010, working with international choreographers and various festivals apart from her independent collaborations. She was also the artistic mentor for various industry productions and the championships of national choreographic competition “Sprouts” in 2012 and 2013. Susan has also been invited to present her research and collaborative expertise in several international events and media interviews in recent years.

 

_{Image courtesy of  “Style Revisited”}

 

Luca Curci – What is the message linked to the video you have shown in this exhibition?

Susan Yeung How Wah – “Birth and death, life and decay, degeneration and regeneration – are all manifestations of that oneness.” – Swami Vivekananda.

 

L.C. – How is it connected to the theme of RITUALS – ANIMA MUNDI FESTIVAL?

S.Y.H.W. – Birth and death are the two most important events of our lives. Once we are born into this world, death becomes part of our journey. The two extreme points created the ritual of the journey, as it echoed the never-ending cycles of degeneration and regeneration of the living beings in this world.

 

_{Image courtesy of Tan Ngiap Heng}

 

L.C. – What do you think about the concept of this event? In which way did inspire you?

S.Y.H.W. – As ANIMA MUNDI festival opened around the same time as Venice Biennale, it symbolizes the congregation of different types of souls and different rhythms of the works into this one big melting pot this year. By participating in this event, I’m intrigued about the other works that participated in the event as well. By screening the video in Venice, I am curious about how the city and the screening location would impact on the film and the way for people to look at the film. This could provide me some ideas of how to screen the film in another way with the future screening as well.

 

L.C. – Are your videos focused on a specific theme?

S.Y.H.W. – Yes, it is focused on the theme of degeneration and regeneration. In summary, the theme of the video is about the journey of aging.

 

_{Image courtesy of Tan Ngiap Heng}

 

L.C. – Did you style change over the years? How?

S.Y.H.W. – Yes, upon the first inception of the film in 2013, the concept and the ideas have been expanded into a series of collaborative performances and practice-based investigations. One of the most recent works “Investigation 1.2: Degeneration. Regeneration” combined the excerpt of the film with a live performance of a duet in a dance choreography, which was invited by MOTUS dance company (Italy) to participate in a festival at Siena in June 2017 as well. With this rendition of the film, the film artist and myself wanted to portray more vulnerable emotions through the echoes of the soundscape and broader view of camera angles.

 

_{Image courtesy of Tan Ngiap Heng}

 

L.C. – Which are your artistic projects for the future? Is there any possibilities for a new participation in some Italian exhibitions?

S.Y.H.W. – My upcoming projects include a music and dance collaborative project and another collaborative project with dance and origami, in addition to the touring the above mentioned dance work to another festival. The artistic director of Italy’s MOTUS dance company will also work with me to create another collaborative/ site-specific project together for next year. Meanwhile, I am also preparing a research paper on fashion and dance collaboration project that I’m leading for the presentation at a conference. I believe in collaborations between different countries and different art disciplines. Therefore I strongly believe in the possibility of new participation in other exhibitions or art events in the near future.

 

_{Image courtesy of Tan Ngiap Heng}

 

L.C. – Would you suggest cooperating with us? What do you think about It’s LIQUID Group and our services?

S.Y.H.W. – I am personally very happy and satisfied with the services and I feel that the organizations understand the constraint of timeline that the artists faced due to many different reasons and challenges. With the interview opportunity, the artists had the opportunity to share the insight of the work and the creative journey with the others as well. I hope to continue the collaboration with the It’s LIQUID Group and to possibly carry the collaboration and exchange to a deeper level as well.

 

L.C. – Do you think that this experience could be useful for artists and can contribute to increase personal background?

S.Y.H.W. – I believe the showcase and the sharing of information of the work could have the positive influence on ones’ artistic growth, although having the opportunity to speak about the work in various ways and to create more presentation opportunity would help to provide another layer of understanding of the works among the participants and viewers as well.

 

_{Image courtesy of Tan Ngiap Heng}