Using effervescent colors like a Bollywood film mural is one of your trademarks. How do you address the traditional notions of quite a myopic and chauvinistic Bollywood cinema?
Yes, the gender roles in Bollywood films are often fixed but you have to think about the function of them, which is to raise the morale of thousands of poor people who have very little to look forward to. The fairytale romance of the prince and princess is sociologically important. My work references the glitz, glamour and iconicity of Bollywood but from there on the similarities depart—my work subverts and problematizes simplistic representations of identity and gender.

Your work incorporates a lot of your personal experiences…
My work may start from the self but in the process of making, it departs to explore broader issues about post-colonialist identity. Although I use images and artifacts that are autobiographical, in that they are from my life, my work is easily relatable and makes people think about their identity in general.

What are some of your fondest memories?
Simple things from my childhood like going to grammar school, dressing up to go to temple functions and playing hopscotch on the streets of Liverpool. Then there are fond memories from my work such as working with lovely feminist women on Mukti, the first Asian women’s magazine in Britain, collaborating with my late little brother MAGIC on various art projects and exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1981.

How do you decide what is worth an artistic representation?
As an artist there are issues that you feel strongly about, themes that define you. Mine include my personal family history, Punjabi roots, Asian femininity and the impact and consequences of modern day consumption patterns. The references to ice-cream in my work are related to my identity because my dad used to own an ice-cream van but also the ice cream van culture that is inherent to the UK.

Other than your personal experience, what else inspires your work?
I am inspired by mythologies and stories from different traditions, especially Indian mythology. I am influenced by art traditions, especially Dada and Surrealism.

Briefly describe your artistic process.
My artist process is constantly developing. I work experimentally across a variety of mediums including print, photography, sculpture and paint. I hand treat each piece—embellishing them with gems, stickers, paint, glitter, bindis. Layering and experimentalism has informed my work throughout my career as has the relationship between image and text.

Check out Paradox Art Gallery at www.paradoxsingapore.com or visit Burman's show, Fragments of the Imagination.

What is Cozaron de Angeles in Paradise all about?
It’s simply a joyful tale about the marriage of a couple from two different cultures and angels from heaven blessing them.

How did you end up performing in Singapore?
Not too long ago, I was holidaying in Singapore and was awed by the beauty of the National Museum and the different cultures here. Even in Europe, there aren’t as many interesting cities as Singapore. I decided that it would be a great experience for Theater Tol to present our work here. So I did some background research about the Voyage Night Festival here, aliased with the organizers, presented it to them—it was stressful like an exam—but luckily they loved it.

How important is the façade of the National Museum to your performance?
It’s not only about the excellent architecture of the museum, as much as it influences the work. But the challenge was also to capture the soul and historical richness of the location. Also a past that was filled with sailors and prostitutes makes it more memorable to perform here.

Why weddings in an age when they have gone out of vogue?
It’s not a really good time economically and life is a big struggle but we want to give people the opportunity to forget the hard times, share our happiness and dream with us in this light, hopeful tale.

Go see the spectacular show at the Voyage Night Festival 2011.

This Pop Art exhibition celebrates a series of mixed media art works from eight leading Indonesian and Singaporean contemporary artists.

The stellar line-up includes Eddie Hara, often touted as the pioneer Pop artist in the Indonesian arts scene and veteran local artist Vincent Leow, who has a penchant for creating kitsch-inspired paintings and objects.

There is also a collection of visually-arresting works by 2nd generation stalwarts like Agan Harahap, :phunk studio, David Chan and Wisnu Auri.

Agan Harahap’s Happy Religion, a series of three tongue-in-cheek digitally manipulated images inspired by paintings from the legendary Caravaggio really captured our eye. Mediating on the commercialization of religion, the tonsured Harahap lends a personal subversive touch to the works by placing himself as the leading protagonist in all the works.

Local artist David Chan’s paintings Hip Hop Snoopys and Mercy By The Litre mirror how pop cultural ephemera influences the creative process of Generation X-ers.

“What this exhibition highlights is how globalization and media exposure have allowed what was previously isolated and distant to become part of the visual vocabulary in our daily life,” says Alia Swastika, the curator of New Pop New World.

Indeed. We highly recommend you head here for a good dose of quality local and regional contemporary art.

Go see the New Pop New World show this weekend.

Where did the idea for Lonely Furrow stem from?
Having lived in a Bihar village for much of my childhood, I have always been fascinated, concerned and connected with the lives of peasants. In fact, I have seen and experienced how it has transformed from a flourishing, idyllic agricultural village to its current bleak plight.

How is the artistic process similar to the labor of a Bihari farmer?
The works created for this exhibition had a very tactile, labor-intensive and organic approach. I did loads of hand painting as the various pulps used in this project are very sensitive. Besides hand painting, drawings prepared for the plates were also a meticulous process.

Did the geographical detachment of working in Singapore help?
Of course it did. It was ironic that I was creating my works about Indian farmers in an ultra-modern city state. But I was fortunate to have a great team in the Singapore Tyler Print Institute who collaborated with me in achieving my artistic vision. In fact, this project was an eye-opener for me, as I usually work in a solitary style.

What would you like to address with your project?
Unlike the detached and disposable nature of media reports, I wanted to explore alternative ways of looking at a very pertinent issue facing India now. India is still an agricultural-based society but the multinationals have adversely affected the lives of the average Indian farmer. The mass suicides by farmers are also a grave concern and a tragic loss to society as the knowledge from generations of these folks is absolutely wasted.

What’s in the pipeline?
A major Lonely Furrow exhibition will be debuting in India, early 2012. The works-in-progress exhibitions here and in New York are like teasers before the big one.

Lonely Furrow runs through Sep 10 at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute.

How was Paper Boat conceived?
It was conceived two years ago in a theater workshop supported by The Substation and Asia-Europe Foundation(ASEF). Besides TheatreStrays, a Bulgarian theater troupe was also involved. In one of our exchanges, we had to provoke memories through physical sensation. I recollected my childhood when my father and I used to make paper boats and float them on the sea.

A transformative process has often been used to explain the play, but how exactly does that happen?
When we were performing in Brazil, one of the performers spoke about how she had absolutely forgotten about the memory of her making paper boats with her dad during her childhood and that the play made her reconnect with her past memories. It might be a simple work but the universality and common threads among different cultures resonate with poignancy.

Can you expect the local audience, who are known to be somewhat tepid when it comes to interactive works, to be active collaborators during the performance?
Sometimes, the very act of not being outwardly receptive itself is being a collaborator. During rehearsals, we are prepared to face audiences who would prefer not to actively participate, but we believe that in their own contemplative way, they would reflect on their lives in a world that is so often bombarded by information overload.
Intrigued?

Unveil your secrets at Paper Boat on Aug 25-27 at Esplanade Theatre Studio.

If you could DJ in any location, where would it be? Dave Angel (DA): Sentosa Beach, I had a great time performing there before.
Kaye (K): I'd follow in Johnny Cash's footsteps and perform in prisons to shine some light.
Norman Chung (NC): In zero gravity.

Are there any jazz influences in your sets?
DA: Not much in my set but definitely in the music I create.
K: Yes, it's everywhere.
NC: Just a touch.

Describe your style in a haiku...
DA: Exciting, relentless and true.
K: I am who I am. Open your ears.
NC: What is a haiku? This interview is over. Thank you very much.

What song would be on your MP3 player if you had to run a marathon?
DA: "Filles de Killmanjaro" by Miles Davis and some early electro.
K: Jeff Mills, techno tempo is good for running.
NC: "Chase" by Giorgio Moroder.

If music was a woman, describe her.
DA: Just like my wife: Sexy, beautiful, charming, loyal and mine.
K: Curvy, black and with a huge afro.
NC: She is in tune, on time and turns me on.

Catch the trio in action at the Blue Velveteen Grey Goose Sessions.

Which single or remix of yours never fails to make punters go apesh*t on the dancefloor?
I wouldn't want anyone to go bonkers on the dance floor, really don’t want to be accountable for someone losing an eye.

Most requested song you refuse to spin... "You Remind Me of My Jeep," because it turns the dance floor into one stinking traffic jam.

If you could collaborate with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
I would collaborate with the cast of Glee, preferably after their death.

Three records that changed your life… are on file with the State of California.

Gear up for a night of ass kickin’ slams from the acclaimed spinmeister on at Smirnoff Presents DJ Rectangle.
 

Our exhibit Uh is all about … the freedom of expression and a vibrant youth culture in present day Vietnam.

Our biggest challenge when making music videos is … convincing the likes of Hoang Thuy Linh (Vietnamese pop singer) that we can’t mimic the tacky aesthetics of American manufactured pop videos.

Working with Danish arts collective Supeflux … was a dream come true. The trio are so clever, inspiring, meticulous and patient.

We always play with … the stereotypes and conventional approaches to our mediums, kind of a mindf**k but that’s our way of being truly creative.

We respect Vietnamese culture because … it’s one of the richest visual cultures in the world.

Check out Uh at Video, An Art, a History 1965-2010.

I believe in showing respect to the people you deal with and the situations you find yourself in by dressing with care.

I also appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into clothes that have been tailor-made for you. It's an act of resistance against industrial conformity.

My fondest childhood memory happened when I was four, refusing to try mangoes, and my father insisting that they were nice. He was right.

My education at Princeton taught me to try to appear to not be working very hard. It just wasn't cool. You had to do the work, and you had to perform really well, but it had to look effortless.

For sheer reading pleasure nothing compares to the Tintin and Asterix series, as well as the full-length works of Malaysian cartoonist Lat.

As an only child, I was always an observer. I liked to watch people, decode a situation from the body language of the participants, eavesdrop on their conversations and absorb the rhythms of their speech.

I suppose I built up a mental journal of the human condition, and at a certain point I needed to start telling stories.

Our duty as artists is to be more creative than the censors, to let the limitations inspire us. You can't let them win.

Writing is equal parts therapy and trauma, man.

Very early in my career I got a love letter from a young lady who had watched a play of mine and decided she liked me, or at least the idea she had of me. It was flattering, I guess, but I was attached, so there was no way anything was going to happen.

I create playlists for each project I’m working on, with music to match the mood, usually instrumental or in a language other than English, so that there are no lyrics to interfere with creating sentences in my mind. Anything that takes me out of myself without leading me too firmly to any one place.

It's better to listen than to speak.

I unwind like any other dude on the street; I swim and read magazines but things get interesting when I plot world domination.

It's a huge blessing to have Claire (Wong) as both my professional and life partner. It’s always a joy to depend on someone you share your life goals and work ethic with.

The trick is to make sure you can stop talking about work once in a while and carve out time to just be a couple.

My family keeps me sane and grounded, so even if I don't always know where I'm going, I always know where I came from.

My epitaph should read like this: "He was compassionate and kind, and good at his job."

Do you ever get irritating requests from the dancefloor?
Every girl that starts by saying “Hello there, tonight is my friend´s birthday...” means trouble. I´ve had a couple of nice requests a few times though involving the likes of Dennis Parker, Shari Vari, Paul Simon and Andreas Vollenweider.

How long have you spent cultivating your moustache?
These days it tends to get lost in it’s neighbour, namely the beard. It’s not that I´m purposely going for this whole unshaven “just got out of bed” look, the fact is that very often I have actually just gotten out of bed. I sleep a lot!

Your music has been defined as “space disco.” Is it an appropriate soundtrack for astronauts?
I very much doubt it. If I was an astronaut, I´d probably leave all my cosmic J.P. Massiera records at home and bring some Neil Young and perhaps a few Beethoven recordings.

Did studying astrophysics influence your DJing technique?
I think more the other way around; my escalating DJ schedule influenced my studies in a bad way! Every Monday I cut classes, which is the main day for the astrophysics part of my studies. Fortunately, I was majoring in general physics and had only a couple of astrophysics modules in the mix.

Will disco ever die?
Yes, it should.

Catch Todd Terje at DISCO:VERY at Zouk