What’s the most apt way to describe our local design culture?
It’s a very small scene—which is a good and bad thing. The pros are that everyone tends to be either really supportive or really critical of each other, and that makes a kind of hothouse. The con is that there are not enough weirdos to make things really interesting. Singapore isn’t a place where we can develop a Werner Herzog or Peter Saville because everyone tends to influence each other too much.

You’re known for your projection mapping; how do you think it affects the overall aural experience?
I think mapping and visuals create a framework and a language to digest intention. Music is a very innate thing; it hits the pre-logical and pre-rational centers of our heads in a way that moving pictures haven’t reached yet. It’s kind of hardcoded. Having the visual element tiered to the music in some way creates a dichotomy, which makes it interesting. Basically what I do is use the intentions of the music to piggyback visual ideas that create new dialogues.

How do you evoke feelings and rich textures in a medium that is falsely perceived as cold and mechanical?
Well I hope the work I do provokes some kind of response that isn’t just mechanical. I work primarily in animation using 3D software, which in itself is pretty hard to remove connotations of being kind of techy, or should I say tacky? The challenge then, like any artist, is to transcend their medium and create epiphanies. That’s why I tend to use material that already has strong visual baggage in the opposite direction—therefore my preoccupation with skulls, fur and that giant pink dildo train in the Kidkanevil video.

Are you doing anything special for the event?
There’s always something interesting in the works … I could always haul out the black latex zentai suit one of these days and do the gig dressed like that.

Check out Make Local Your Focal on Aug 6 at Home Club

Video, an Art, a History 1965-2010

Who cares if the world of banking lost another number crunching serf? Switch off the news and turn your attention to a humorous critique of contemporary Singapore society. Lee Wen’s spectacular interactive video art installation World Class Society delivers that. In a sepulchral room imbued with white and designed like a prison cell, one visitor at a time watches, through a white cloth tube, a close-up of Lee Wen dressed like a typical civil servant, delivering a glib speech replete with the phrase, “World class.” You also receive a badge if you fill up a questionnaire; how Singaporean is that?!
Through Sep 18 at Singapore Art Museum

Dazzle: Tribute To Iconic Buildings In Singapore

Who said sequins are just for drama queens like the Dim Sum Dollies and Kumar? Upcoming local artist Simon Lim, a Peranakan, was so inspired by the intricate beadwork created by his ancestors that he incorporates them on his paintings of iconic Singaporean buildings like the Supreme Court. Lim thinks that by imbuing them with glittering little beads, more women can appreciate the architecture of the buildings; something he feels is a predominantly male terrain.
Through Aug 16 at Société Générale Private Banking Gallery.

One

To commemorate Singapore’s 46th birthday, local artist Kelvin Tan examines the crux of Singaporean identity in One, inspired by rojak and nuances of contemporary society. He presents effusive Pop Art mixed-media installations comprising techniques like screen printing, traditional painting, stenciling and relief. Iconic national symbols are remixed in migraine-inducing fluro hues . So you can expect former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew making a funky Banksy-inspired cameo on a wall (certainly more fun than watching him in his angelic whites on television during the National Day Parade).
Through Aug 9 at Esplanade Tunnel

How are the plays similar?
Charged and Nadirah both discuss pertinent social issues in an emotionally poignant way with a tint of humor. I hope this is achieved through acute observations that I made about interactions and daily life in our nation.

Why are these plays pertinent?
Singaporeans usually avoid sensitive issues like sex, politics, race and religion. I think this is pernicious; we should instead engage in proper dialogue to discuss these issues. In fact, when we ignore such issues, that’s when prejudice and antagonism creep in, with serious consequences for the fabric of the nation.

What is Charged about?
Charged is contextualized with a typical Singaporean male coming-of-age ritual: National Service. Using that familiar setting, the cast and crew have explored a no-holds barred, highly physical meditation on sociopolitical issues—primarily race and religion—in contemporary Singapore.

What is Nadirah about?
It is a narrative of how faith is part of an individual’s personal terrain. This is a clever, richly nuanced work that presents a microscopic view on the daily life of the eponymous heroine.

Why are you looking forward to the Man Singapore Theatre Festival?
During the first run of Charged in 2009, I was five months pregnant and wasn’t feeling well two weeks before the premiere. I was stuck at home and couldn’t even direct. I guess the encore for the Man Singapore Theatre Festival gives me the long awaited chance to direct it again.

Catch Charged from Aug 6-7 and Nadirah from Aug 17-21.

The Man Singapore Theatre Festival runs from Aug 3-21.

Cooling Off Day is a story about Singapore. When people wrote about Singapore’s history in the past, it was often from a singular perspective. An example of this would be class textbooks, which are strictly based on one viewpoint. I wanted to examine the idea of counter-narratives sending a message, which has never really been legitimized so far.

I have often wanted to write a story about something really simple, like a love story between two people who meet in Eastpoint. But I always end up zooming right into the details, and some things just happen in Singapore that make me feel like I can’t turn my back on them… it always ends up being relevant.

I like to imagine Singapore as a kid from a military family, one that moves around a lot in a kind of nomadic way, and never gets the chance to properly settle in to a town or school before it has to uproot again.

Sometimes I think we’re being naïve by assuming a nation state is an idea still worth pursuing.

I feel as though we have a sort of post-colonial cultural void, where we’re lacking a sense of pride or identity.

Before the elections a lot of people had been bottling in their personal opinions.

Once the elections were over, many ordinary people were desperate to get the initial emotion off their chest and have their moment of political expression.

Your uncles and aunties in kopitiams don’t keep blogs. But just because someone doesn’t use the prerequisite political vocabulary doesn’t mean their opinion isn’t valid.

It’s difficult to really belong to a community in Singapore, because there’s so much rapid change that no one has any time to stop and breathe.

You become familiar with a neighborhood, then suddenly half the buildings have been knocked down and there’s a new mall. It’s like the development is being forced too fast, and the idea of locality becomes meaningless.

Politics is all about entertainment. And entertainment is all about politics. Politics is all about performance; you have this whole political theater where how you perform dictates how you carve your name into history.

I have responsibilities as a playwright. One thing I feel very strongly about is that I am able to bring controversy to the table.

It’s necessary for me to raise issues that journalists and the media are not covering, if they’re not serving us adequately over political issues.

People need the opportunity to hear what others are saying. You should expect your political views to be challenged, not always confirmed. My play may be about politics, but it isn’t a prescriptive kind of play; you will be bearing witness to a whole spectrum of views. Like living in a democracy!

Cooling Off Day is on from Aug 10-14.

The Man Singapore Theatre Festival runs from Aug 3-21.

You said that no picture is worth dying for, but you faced almost imminent death every day for a time—how did you consolidate these two ideas?
You live in a constrained reality. In a sense, there are different degrees of danger, but even in the midst of battle, you can expose yourself and hopefully stay out of trouble. You don’t rush towards the fight, but you obviously can’t go the other way, either.

In the Life article about Larry Burrows, you said he was “either the bravest man I ever knew, or the most nearsighted.” What do you think it was?
Well, Larry did have bad eyesight. What is bravery anyway? I think half the time when you’re in the middle of the shit, you stop thinking and just start reacting. Although there’s nothing you can do about indirect fire, you can learn small tricks to protect yourself; bullets go through rubber trees, so don’t hide behind rubber trees. But you can’t get a picture by hiding; you have to expose yourself, and so I think we became foolhardy because we tried to convince ourselves that we’re bulletproof.

You mentioned that the bonds with your fellow photographers and fellow folks on the battle field were “closer than your mum.” Why is that so?
The emotions were unspoken. You didn’t have to waste time talking about fear. We were close almost by osmosis, when you shared the same women, drugs and gin. It was like taking communion with each other. I really hate to compare it to religion, but it was almost a religious experience in a way.

Did you feel disconnected to the world when you returned home from Vietnam?
I first went home in 1967. Life gave me US$500 to leave because it was becoming too dangerous, so I bought a one-way ticket to London, drove home, and nobody was there. I was adopted, you see, so I wasn’t that close to my mom. I stayed there for two nights, then moved to Paris, moved to New York. It’s a wild place, New York; I was arrested with Jim Morrison there too. But at the same time, I was seeing my friends’ photos in Life, on television; I was itching to go back. So I bought another one way ticket back to Vietnam.

Anything you miss about Vietnam?
The blowjobs at US$2.50 a pop. I did indulge a fair bit.

Requiem runs through Aug 21.

Led by local theater company Wild Rice, this festival showcases six original productions directed by and featuring some of the local scene’s luminaries, including Olivier Award nominee Glen Goei and playwright Alfian Sa’at.

This year’s edition has been given a fillip by Man Investments’ (of Booker Prize fame) sponsorship along with the premieres of three original plays: The Weight of Silk on Skin, Cooling Off Day and Family Outing.

“Although some of the plays appear to deal with taboo topics in Singapore, beneath the veneer it’s all about culture, identity, society and nationhood,” says Wild Rice’s artistic director Ivan Heng. “Also, we want to dramatize original literary works that capture the essence of what it means to be in Singapore now.”

The program also includes encores for two critically acclaimed plays, Charged and Nadirah, which cleverly confront thorny issues on race and religion with a healthy dose of irreverent humor.

“Though these plays are different in tone and context, they are both pertinent pieces because they reveal the issues faced by ordinary Singaporeans, “says Zizi Azah, the award winning director of both plays. As Singapore reaches her 46th year, questions about identity become increasingly prevalent and fraught—on one hand we have a Monocle-endorsed hyped-up city while on the other a more somber analysis reveals a sense of loss as we chomp through the global economic race.

“Singaporeans are usually known for their penchant for conspicuous consumerism, but to get to the soul of the nation, we need to watch these plays, including folks who have never been part of the usual theater crowd,” says Heng.

The Man Singapore Theatre Festival runs from Aug 3-21. Catch the plays at these time.

Charged Aug 3 to Aug 7.
The Weight of Silk on Skin Aug 3 to Aug 7.
Cooling Off Day Aug 10 to Aug 14.
Family Outing Aug 17 to Aug 21.
Nadirah Aug 17 to Aug 21.

You’ve said that you’re a big Alexander McQueen fan, and that he doesn’t like to play it “safe.” Do you think all writers and artists should aspire to do the same?
It depends whether the artists are mature enough to take the risk and take full responsibility for that risk. I believe that great art often comes hand in hand with being risky and being willing to push the way people respond and perceive art. However there are also plenty of examples where artists aren't mature enough to handle the risks they take and this in turn not only has a negative impact on themselves but those involved in the work as well as the audience who receive the work.

You’ve also mentioned in the creative process of writing: Never forget who you are writing for. Who did you have in mind when writing Twice Removed?
My mother—not only a woman but also someone who doesn't frequent theater very often. It was important for me to ensure that I wrote a piece that was relatable and accessible even to non-theater goers. While the play deals with women’s issues I wanted to write a play that can appeal to a diverse group of people and affect them on a number of levels.

Why breasts?
They're so topical! Throughout the ages breasts seem to be a recurring symbol of femininity, virtue and sex appeal and even after decades of equal rights legislation, feminist movements and sexual harassment cases breasts still seem to play a key role in defining a woman's femininity. In an era where getting a breast augmentation is as easy as ordering delivery for dinner I wanted to explore how a modern woman could confront the issue undergoing a full double mastectomy whilst still preserving her integrity and sense of self as a woman throughout the process.

It’s rare for men to write pieces about women. What drove you to do so?
The initial spark that spurred my desire to research and consider the topic further came from a conversation I had with a friend whose aunt had recently under gone a full double mastectomy. Even though I didn’t know his aunt, I remember being so affected by the fact that this woman didn’t have a choice. It was either remove her breasts or die. This led me to consider whether I, in that situation, would remove my own breasts to safeguard myself against cancer potentially developing? Based on the fact that to this day I (and many others) still can’t answer that question, it means that this is an important and relevant topic to be discussed.

Do you think it is unjustifiable for a woman to be viewed as unfeminine?
I think being viewed as feminine or masculine is a dated ideal that society has held on to for too long. Why should a strong woman be perceived as masculine? How does strength actually translate into masculinity? Similarly how does being a sensitive guy translate into him being feminine? Femininity in some parts of the world means being big and curvy and hairy and in other parts it means being super skinny with large breasts and blonde hair. I think a woman should be able to look and feel however she wants and shouldn't have to feel pressured to try and fit the mould society prescribes as being feminine.

Do you think of yourself more as a playwright, actor, or producer? How do these different roles intersect with one another?
Like many artists I choose to wear a few different hats. However, to this day, my first and foremost passion is performing. My work as an actor fuels my work as a playwright and producer.

Are you a feminist?
I believe in equality. As for “feminist” that's a term that seems to get a lot of people in trouble and I'm not taking that risk.

Watch Twice Removed to fully experience Girardi's intuitive prowess.

Which three records have had the greatest influence on you?
Lovesexy by Prince because it was the first record I bought with my own money. I was really young then. I didn't always understand the music, but I played it so often that it grew on me. Tabula Rasa by Arvo Part, because it got me through the most dark and difficult period of my life. Homework by Daft Punk—one of the main reasons why I make music.

What first sparked your desire to make music?
It was when I discovered I could take nearly any instrument (well, not the violin of course) and get something out of it that could be called music.

Describe the feeling of being onstage.
Being onstage can feel awkward at first but I got used to it. Now I absolutely love the stage. Not because it puts me on a stand, but because it's a place where I can share my love for music with others, where I feel free from daily shit. It's also a very sexy feeling and it’s like making love to the audience. Music is very physical and a good concert can make me very horny.

What advice do you have for folks who want to start their own band?
Always listen to your intuition, never listen to the market.

Biggest non-musical influence?
Andy Warhol's philosophy has helped me a lot. Things like, "if you can't get it exactly right, exactly wrong is better," and "don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches."

Up for trashy sexy sounds? Head down to The Subs' gig at the Hennessy Artistry.

Icon de Martell Cordon Bleu

This exhibition showcases the dazzling works of three of the best local art photographers—Sean Lee, John Clang and Zhao Renhui—who were the finalists for this prestigious photography award this year. Despite having very different styles and subject matters, they share a common desire to confront realities and push boundaries through their creativity. Through Jul 25. ARTSPACE@Helutrans, #02-04 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Rd., 6225-5448.

Who should go: If you are into the local visual arts scene, feast yourself on a buffet of sensory delights.

Walls Between Peoples

This exhibition showcases the works of photographers and authors, Alexandra Novosseloff and Frank Neisse, who explore the phenomenon of walls both as physical barriers and symbols of cultural and political tension in conflict sites around the world. Through Jul 27. Société Générale Private Banking Gallery, Alliance Française, 1 Sarkies Rd., 6737-8422.

Who should go: The politically inclined will have a field day dissecting the broad collection of walls in conflict areas like Tijuana, Belfast and Jerusalem.

Requiem

An exhibition curated by veteran war photographers Horst Faas and Tim Page (who was depicted onscreen by the legendary Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now) serves as a memorial to 135 photojournalists who perished while covering the conflicts in Vietnam and Indochina from the 50s to 70s. It features over 300 poignant and evocative images, some of which were the very last frame that the photographers shot before dying. Through Aug 21. NAFA Galleries 1 & 2, 80 Bencoolen St., 6512-4043.

Who should go: History buffs will surely be captivated by the powerfully emotional stories painted by the images, especially since the Vietnam War is often considered the last conflict in which the media’s access was uncensored.

How did you get into DJ-ing?
Years ago. I used to make mixtapes in the 80s, ran my first club night when I was 18, and never looked back.

Which three records have been most influential to you?
Three—wow—tough question. M/A/R/R/S Pump Up The Volume got me into acid house, but my first LP was Adam & The Ants Prince Charming! Not sure what that says, and more recent than all of that Daft Punk made me reassess the point of dance music with their filler-house/disco punk movement. They turned the speakers inside out.

Which single/remix do you know will always make people go mental on the dancefloor?
This constantly changes, as my set constantly evolves. There is no record that I played in 1990 that I am still playing now. I love playing new unreleased stuff that I have collected for my label, Surfer Rosa, because when they demolish the dancefloor, I look forward to their release.

What’s the most requested song you refuse to spin?
I don’t do requests. I actually left a party where I had been booked to play for Paris Hilton, because she kept asking for me to play Madonna.

Have you ever played something and had it completely bomb?
Sure, but you learn from your mistakes, and mix out of the track fast—then bin it.

What’s your primary source for finding new music?
Travelling and touring the world, running a label and I guess Beatport.

Any new artists who deserve a flag up?
I am managing a new band called Dirtyloud right now—they are young guys from Brazil. They do an awesome job of blending electro, dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass—with added bonus of massive production values. They rock.

If you could collaborate with anyone living or dead, who would it be?
I had a dream where Keith Richards said he was really getting into electronic stuff these days and could I show him round my studio.

Catch Tim Healey’s deck wizardry at Hennessy Artistry on Jul 22.