Situated on a temporal space at Prinsep Street, a time portal manifests as a traditional Chinese street opera stage to present new works by 5 artists who explore and examine this traditional performing art and its relevance in our contemporary society.

Rendering context to this installation are 150 photographs and video footage drawn from Ken Cheong’s personal documentary on Chinese street opera made between 1989 to 2007.

Mary Bernadette Lee investigates the meanings behind opera ritual plays and the symbolic mythical creatures on the stage backdrop and opera costumes. Inspired by the traditional stage painting,Wu Yanrong attempts to deconstruct the stage in collaboration with Mr. Liang, the last opera stage painter in Singapore. Drawing inspiration from the hand gestures performed in Chinese opera, Lai Yu Tong uses images of hands from the internet to tell stories about the modern world. Loudly occupying the space at different time intervals, Yenting Hsu’s sound performance based on the street opera in Singapore and Taiwan prompts collective memories and encourage visitors to trace the diaspora roots of Chinese opera and its presence within the public space.

List of Artists: Ken Cheong, Mary Bernadette Lee, Wu Yanrong in collaboration with Mr. Liang, Lai Yu Tong and Yenting Hsu. 

Image Courtesy of Ken Cheong.