Artist Residency: Introducing Loo Zihan

We're excited to introduce Loo Zihan as our first Resident who will be staying at The Substation for the coming weeks.

The third floor of The Substation has been converted into rustic studio/living spaces, and Residents will be carrying out their research and work in these spaces. 

For the duration of his residency from April to June 2016, Zihan will reflect on performances in the 1990s that took place at the Substation. He will use the residency to revive a reading group on performance, documentation and re-enactments that he started while pursuing his Associate Artist Research Programme at The Substation in 2013.

Zihan is also loaning 'Harrison' to The Substation for the duration of his residency.

In line with the thematic focus of the year - an investigation into the history of The Substation - I am loaning the Banyan tree sapling that I adopted, named ‘Harrison’, to The Substation for the duration of my residency.

‘Harrison’ will be approximately one year and seven months old at the beginning of my residency in April 2016. He was adopted as part of fundraising campaign for the renovation of The Substation Gallery in August 2014. I wrote an article on him as part of my contribution to the 25th anniversary publication by The Substation edited by Audrey Wong. Here is a quote from my article, completed in July 2015.

“The question at this point in time is whether these sinewy threads that connect us to The Substation are binding attachments to the ground, preventing the tree from reaching greater heights. As The Substation as an institution ages, we should try to ensure that the weight of history does not become a burden that prevents it from growing into a limber entity permitted to perform radical gestures.”