DISCIPLINE THE CITY
ACAB: All Curators are B____
Sep-Nov 2017
Part performance, part attitude, and all punk—what else can you expect from a docent series that is a play on the oft-used slogan and anti-police acronym ACAB (All Cops are B )? From a new artistic director, to a schizo two-faced docent, to a quarreling pair of lovers, each punk tour is a unique portrait built upon their own stories. ACAB tours are devised in collaboration with theatre practitioner, Tan Liting.
TOUR #1: ORIENTATION
by Vanessa Victoria
2 & 3 Sep / 4-5pm
Congratulations on your appointment to The Substation. Subs, as we affectionately refer to our treasured employees, play an instrumental part in producing some of the country's best, most palateable artwork and exhibitions in record time; and we look forward to having you on board. Our factory is a unique workplace filled with opportunities for all Subs, and we look forward to sharing our nationally-acclaimed Mass Production (MP) processes with you.
With this letter, we are pleased to invite you to attend The New Faculty and Staff Orientation. This orientation is provided by LCdiy Human Resources to all eligible new employees. You will be receiving information about your new positions as Artist Producers and Curators, and learning more about your new working environment. It is through many years of continuous work, that we have established a creative culture our Subs have been conditioned to enjoy, and we cannot wait to share it with you.
About the guide
Vanessa's very first exhibition was haphazardly put together in a month, close to ten years ago in the Substation Random Room, in a desperate bid to purge and self medicate. The reasons for what she chooses to do have not seemed to have changed.
TOUR #2: ALL GUIDES ARE BIPOLAR
by Farez Najid
10 Sep / 16 & 17 Sep / 23 & 24 Sep | 4-5pm
A museum docent with split personality escort the audience around the gallery commenting on the works that are on display. The character Beep is an eloquent punk that is well verse in the arts, speaks to the audience about the works displayed with depth and understanding while Shuwab is a bitter, out of work tour guide with limited understanding of the arts, vilify the works of art at The Substations, constantly disrupting the tour. They embody a single performer, mirroring the extremes in the society/community towards the appreciation of Arts.
About the guide
Farez Najid was trained in BA(Acting) Lasalle College of the Arts for 2 Years. His work’s include “Prism” (Toy Factory Productions 2017), “Geylang” (WILD RICE 2016), and Tan Tarn How’s “Lady Soul and the Ultimate “S” Machine” (Esplanade Presents: 2015). Farez aspires to be an educator in the realm of theatre education.
TOUR #3: GET UP, STAND UP
by Murali
9 Sep / 7 & 8 Oct / 14 & 15 Oct | 4-5pm
Based on Murali's own personal experiences, this stand up comedy segment asks the audience to question what is art, why art is art, and who decides what art is art. Follow Murali through the exhibition as he reveals his meaning of art, and why certain things mean more than they seem, at least to him.
About the guide
Murali is about to enlist in National Service.
TOUR #4: THE INTERIM A.D.
by Shaiful Risan
21 & 22 Oct / 4 & 5 Nov / 11 & 12 Nov | 4-5pm
Suggested by project creative director Tan Liting, Shaiful Risan will perform his pieces improvised and off the cuff, as if he was Artistic Director of The Substation. The pieces will also blur the line between art and real-life opinion, challenging the idea of performance per se.
About the guide
Shaiful Risan is involved in a lot of things; from subculture events to theater to crew work; from being an actor, a director and a host/emcee to a co-ordinator of many more things. He is also known to be an intermediary between various disciplines and a proxy advisory assistant to a few projects within the umbrella of arts and entertainment. He is a proud void deck Mat that doesnt shy away from intellectual confrontations and rigid arguments about how things are.
TOUR #5: BAIK. JAMBAN
by Dew and Siti Z
18 & 19 Nov / 25 & 26 Nov | 4-5pm
Two women dispute over their failed relationships with the same lover in a heated encounter that takes place in the bowels of The Substation.One is hopeful and bitterly pining for what could have been – while the other is trying to move on yet secretly cherishes the past.
About the guides
Dew M. Chaiyanara is a Drama graduate from LASALLE College of the Arts and has been actively involved in theatre since 1989. An actor, director and scriptwriter, she has received a Merit Award for Scriptwriting from the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, and is the founder of Underground Theatre.
After performing for more than two decades, Siti Z has worked with various theatre companies and practitioners. A firm believer of flexibility in an actor’s performance and working repertoire, she has performed numerous roles ranging from performance art and physical theatre to puppeteering. She hates writing biographies and sees no point in rambling about one’s achievements.
