24/12/2019, Re-Translation Session 1

10am.

entering the halls of the Geylang East Public Library. Like a tourist entering a new city, I was equally lost and curious. Roaming through the shelves, searching through the NLB catalogue for inspiration, subsequently finding the Merpati Hall.

It has been a while since I have touched upon my notes and research for Translation. After 2 weeks of being away with family, I came to revisit my notes with fresher eyes. I flipped through what I've brainstormed, written, spoke, listened. Invoking my sense and going along with my gut feeling on what it is I am exploring. The purpose of being given 120 hours is to begin the incubation process for a starting point. My aim is to not create a final product. My goal is to approach the ideas and process as authentically as I can.

Taking the lift up to the 3rd floor, here we are:

I entered the room and it was sparse. The lights were completely off, had to squeeze myself through a back door. When I turned on the lights, the mood was bare, cold and almost as if no one has stepped foot before. I prepped myself on the stage, and came up with a schedule. As this was my first rehearsal booking, I thought I would lay the groundworks:

1. Booking Studio Spaces - grab them whilst they're still empty!

2. Setting up Open Sessions - minimum of 4.

3. Refreshing old notes and see if anything hits you - anything, I mean, inspiration and ideas....

Organisation is key.

It is important to stick to the schedule and times that you have booked. I think I spent a good 2.5 hours planning (on top of 2 toilet trips + battling with the AC) laying the groundwork. Once the groundwork is set, I have the freedom to begin this process. As I was booking rehearsal spaces in various NLB libraries, I realised what a blessing it is to be able to have a space, as accessible as a library, to be inspired by.

I see the library as a breeding ground for inspiration. With the numerous collection of books and topics available, the possibilities for approaching this process feels infinite. However, the key ingredient for the stimulus of inspiration is the same regardless of the medium of art. Creativity, and it's relationship towards process-driven works.

I began my taking a literal sight-seeing around the Geylang East Public Library. As this was my first visit, I navigated through and wandering around, similarly to how I would roam and get lost in a new city. To me, each library is equivalent to a city. Every time you step foot into the library, you are entering into a world of knowledge, stories, folktales, legends and conversations from the staff that works there, and the demographic of the people that visits.

I began scribbling down ideas that strikes me as I roam. These were some of what I have written:

Library = City?

What If: Each person gets a map of the library?

Dance: Mapping bodies in space.

Navigating.

4 Basic Movements: walking, running, jumping and rolling

Based upon these ideas, I went back to the Merpati Hall and it was as if I was in the flow. Ideas came to me, my hand was trying to catch up to my brain. Ideas are coming at me in rapid speed, all I could do was to scribble. I have the tendency to talk out loud, as it helps organise my thoughts and have a conversation with the idea itself.

Yes, it is a bit strange. But hey, we are eccentric in our own ways.

During this flow, I revisited notes that I had written previously. Read the poem out loud, dissected the poem, dissected an interview of Annaliza Bakri (translator of the poem) where she discusses the act of translation and what it means to her. After 10-15 minutes of non-stop writing, I looked at what I had scribbled:

As I look down at the map that I had pieced together, some prominent ideas stood out to me:

A library is a city.

The shelves akin to buildings in a city.

Books = people. Similarities: knowledge and stories.

Choreography = act of building dances.

Process of Translation = deconstructing and constructing.

Choreography = deconstructing and constructing.

For some reason, I was very intrigued with the concept of cadence. To put it simply, cadence refers to the rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language. It is a universal concept - from the way we walk, to the pace of our words, down to the silence in a room. That, is also, cadence.

At the same time, I am also intrigued to go deeper into the importance of translation and the challenges that translators face. As Singapore is a multi-cultural society with different mother tongues, it is important to shed light on translation in an attempt to increase accessibility. Often times, the act of translation is done in the shadows. But what happens if I attempt an act of translation but via movement?

Over time, I will be posting daily logs on my website. This is my documentation, as well as reaching out to you all as I encourage you to follow behind the scenes. You can follow simply by searching for 'Re-Translation' Category.

Do keep your eyes peeled. As an ending, I will share a children's book that has helped me begin this stepping stone:

Mapping Sam by Joyce Hesselberth

A book about what is where and how to get from here to there.