GEORGE CHUA KHIM SER


Born on 27th February 1973, Singaporean artist George Chua Khim Ser began his career as a performer working and touring with the performance group Metabolic Theatre Laboratory (MTL) led by Zai Kunning. George's inspiration for his performance work in dance and theatre derives from his MTL training and the approach of Butoh dance. His solo and collaborative work sees him engage site-specifically with many group shows such as The Artist Village projects "Artists Investigating Monuments" and "Bye Bye Albert", Plastique Kinetic Worms "Worms Festival II", and most recently in collaboration with Bonemap with Misumi Suzaki for live and filmic work "One Degree North" at The Substation Alley and "The Wild Edge" at the Australian High Commission. George is a musician who works with ethnic and electronic instruments, composes and performs music for theatre and film, and has released an experimental electronic music album "Freedom cannot be Organised" under the pseudonym "My Third Ear".

 

2005

George Chua is a sound artist and performer whose audio work or music may comes in the form of a performance, installation or sound recording. He had previously work with the body in performances that maybe awkwardly be considered as dance or body art but in recent years, he has shift his focus to work with sound and its extensive relationships with memories, invisibility, the body and cinema.

George also creates sound designs and compositions for theatre and film. Some of the local theatre companies he has worked with include Theatreworks, The Theatre Practice and Spell #7. His most recent sonic contribution to film is the soundtrack to Utama – Every Name in History is I directed by Ho Tzu Nyen.

George has a strong interest inter-disciplinary work and has been extending his sound work to working with other medium to expand and compliment his ideas first explored with sound. Apart from his audio works George is currently working on a long term project entitled Genealogy in which he hopes to synergize his various practices into a multi faceted research project.

George has been an associate artist with The Substation since 2002. In 2004, he was awarded an honorable mention for special achievement in music by The Strait Times Life! Theatre awards. Earlier this year, he put out an album entitled “Evidence of Things Not Seen” under his own label called “no winter”.

Source: George Chua

 

CONTROLROOMLIVEUNIT

Enter a performance without performer/s where the backline of the theatre;
the control room, becomes the mainline in this mirage of live video, sound and light within an empty space.

Controlroomliveunit is a collaborative work by video artist Choy Ka Fai
and sound artist George Chua, with the lighting designed by Lim Woan
Wen. In this performance the artists hope to experiment and explore the
possibilities of an inter-relationship between these elements with
various techniques such as computer programming (for example MIDI) as
well as sensory devices. Research for this project began in December
2004 and will culminate in the first presentation.

Performance Date: 20th and 21st May 2005
Performance Time: 8 pm
Venue: The Esplanade Theatre Studio
Ticket Price: $15 (no concession)

(Tickets available at all SISTIC's Outlet)

 

Conflux 2001
A contemporary art project providing networks for cultural exchange. Bonemap hosted a residency for performance, installation, multimedia and a forum with artists from Singapore, Brussels, and five emerging Cairns based artists. It involved practical development and fieldwork. Commissioned by Kick Arts for Fed on Arts Festival, Cairns 2001. DVD new media installation and principal artists of Conflux toured to Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff UK for Experimentica 02 Festival, 2002. Conflux was developed in collaboration with performer George Chua Khim Ser (Singapore), sound artist Jim Denley (Sydney/Brussels), and emerging artists Christian Green, Charmaine Hart, Lisa McClymont, Hayley Warren and Christine Williamson. Practical development and fieldwork - Tanks Art Centre, Undara Lava Tubes, Emerald End Artcamp, Fitzroy Island. 2001.


Asialink Residency 2001
Bonemap's residency at The Substation in Singapore, lasted four months from April - July 2001. The first interdisciplinary residency ever awarded through the combined visual arts and performing arts panels of Asialink. Presentations during the residency include ' One Degree North' performance season and gallery installation, 'Spore' video installation at The Substation; 'New Image New Way' visual art exhibition at Plastique Kinetic Worms Gallery; 'The Wild Edge' repertoire performance at The Australian High Commission. In collaboration with artists George Chua Khim Ser (Singapore), Misumi Suzaki (Japan), Francis Ng (Singaporoe) and Lim Tzay Cheun (Singapore) 2001.

 

Selected Performances

2003

8/1 –18/1 Beautiful Losers
by Spell Seven featuring Gerald Chew
65 Kerbau Road (Spell Seven building)
Composed and performed live experimental music to accompany the play

21/2 –22/2 Zero Hour
The Substation, Guinness Theatre
Direction/dance performance/music by George Chua
Video/drawings/harmonica by Aaron Kao

28/3 – 13/4 pulse VERSION installation
Theatreworks Black Box
As sound artist for the installation
in collaboration with Low Kee Hong (Concept) and Yuen Chee Wai (video)

5/4 Music Box
Presented by The Esplanade Theatre Studio, the Esplanade
DJ set

12/7 Locusts and Wild Honey
Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre
Live solo laptop music performance

19/7 Strategies vol.1
The Blue Room, The Substation
Monthly expertmental music event conceived and organized by George Chua
First installment featuring solo laptop sets from Yuen Chee Wai, George Chua and Evan Tan


2002

3/5 – 5/5 A Time for Drunken Horses
Part of The Substation DanceSpace 2002
Guinness Theatre, The Substation
Full Length dance piece
Choreographed by George Chua
Performed by george Chua and Rizman Putra
With music composed by George Chua

12/7 & Orang Orang
13/7 The Sculpture Square
A vocal/dance performance
Directed by Zai Kuning
Performed by George Chua, Misumi Suzaki, Angie Ng & Zai Kuning

18/10& Bone Machine
25/10 Dance Studio, The Substation
Solo Dance Improvisation


2001

17/2 Untitled
Pan Sonic live, Insomnia, Singapore
(Opening act of solo dance performance for Finland experimental electronic group Pan Sonic)

9/3-11/3 There’s No Need to Go Outside
Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore
(Choreography & performance with Indera Tasripin for group dance. Performed by Indera Tasripin, Zizi Ahzar & Dennis Cheok)

18/3 Localpalloza 98.7FM
Youth Park, Singapore
(Hulusi performance with electronic act Carp 3000)

23/3 Bye Bye Albert
An Artist Village event
Coffee Shop opposite the Substation
(Dry Bones Bean Sprout solo dance performance)

23/3-28/3 Passing
A mandarin play directed by Chia Hong Khye with the Singapore Broadway Playhouse
Guinness Theatre, The Substation, Singapore
(Original music composition and performance)

16/6 Untitled
Dance performance with Bonemap(Australian multi-disciplinary art group) and Misumi Suzaki at location Loke Yew Street’s site installation Delocating Margin by Francis Ng

2/6-3/6
29/6-30/6 1 Degree North
The Substation Alley way, Singapore
Dance & Installation with Bonemap and Misumi Suzaki

12/7 The Wild Edge
Australia High Commission, Singapore
Dance & Installation with Bonemap and Misumi Suzaki

22/8 – 18/9 Fed On Arts Festival
Cairns, Queensland Australia
Art Residency Programme with Bonemap working on the Conflux project
Also performed Driftwood at Baggage project curated by Sharon Pacey – a site specific project at Cairns Domestic Airport

27/9 Character Study
The Substation, Guinness Theatre, Singapore
Solo dance show of Michelle Storz
Invited as collaborator on a piece called Touch

30/11 A Time for Drunken Horses (work-in-progress)
The German School, Singapore
Solo dance performance
Reflections-Singaporean Artists at the German School curated by Rainer Gebuzyk

27/12 – 31/12 Pulau Ubin Island Art Project
Organised by The Artists Village
Invited to stay in the island and create work and dialogue


2000

11/5 – 14/5 String In the Ocean,
Zai Kuning solo show, Guinness Theatre, The Subsation, Singapore
(Invited as a guest performer for all shows for music improvisation)

10/6 – 11/6 Waterloo Arts Alive,
Sculpture Square inconjunction with Singapore Arts Festival
(Abandoned, solo dance improvisation)
(Brother’s Hair, Sister’s Fair, reading by Sia Joo Hiang in collaboration with sound performance)
(Passion Fruit, dance improvisation with Indera Tasripin and Misumi Suzaki)

22/7 A.I.M. (Artist Investigating Monument),
The Artist Village, Raffles Landing Site, Singapore
(Untitled outdoor performance with Kai incorporating action based and installation based elements with body movement and music)

10/10-11/10 Legend of the Giants
A play directed by Nick Ng with Singapore Broadway Playhouse
(Original music composition and live performance with ethnic instrument and percussion)
DBS Auditorium, Singapore

27/10 Dead fingers Talking
Worms Festival 2, Plastic Kinetic Worms, Singapore (Solo dance performance)

28/10 Dirge
Worms Festival 2, Plastic Kinetic Worms, Singapore
(Music improvisation using Chinese pipe instrument Hulusi)


1999

23/6 Labo20 vol.3,
Dance Studio, The Substation, Singapore
(AbsurdE, dance collaboration with the late Leonard Lee)

5/8 – 7/8 Noalibi,
Auditorium, Singapore Art Musuem, Singapore
(Physical theatre performance with Metabolic Theatre Laboratory under the direction of Zai Kuning)

4/9 – 5/9 Noalibi,
Sept Fest, Guinness Theatre, The Substation, Singapore

10/9 – 12/9 Noalibi,
Mcaulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong

14/9 – 15/9 Noalibi,
Tiny Alice Theatre, Tokyo, Japan

20/9 – 22/9 Noalibi,
Kyungsung University, Pusan, Korea

31/12 Scars Into Stars
Post-Ulu- The Artist Village millenium gig, Guinness Theatre, The Substation, Singapore
(Solo dance performance)


Other works

Freedom Cannot Be Organised – My Third Ear( CD album)
(A self produced experimental electronic music under the pseudonym My Third Ear)

Stories About Love film directed by Abdul Nizam produced by Eric Khoo(original soundtrack album)
(Music composed and performed with Zai Kuning)

If Worms Could Speak ( CD album compilation in conjunction with Worms Festival 2)
(Contributed a composition entitled Dirge)

Current 20/10/01
Conceptualise and curated Current: A night of home breed electronic music. Part of Worms Festival 3

While You Sleep group photo exhibition by Lomographic Society 22/3/02 – 1/3/02
Arteliar Frank and Lee gallery

6th onedotzero festival
Institute of Contemporary Art in London
The works by George Chua for While You Sleep exhibition selected by onedotzero.com UK to be shown from 17/5/02 – 26/5/02