PETALING JAYA: It is five years till the year 2020 and local arts practitioner Ng Chor Guan is excited to be creating an ongoing experimental project that kicks off this year and builds up to that milestone dateline.
Simply titled 2020, the new contemporary work will be a series of multi-disciplinary performances staged each year and presented by Toccata Studio, which Ng co-founded with producer Tan E-Jan.
When met at Toccata Studio yesterday, the 34-year-old artistic director, composer and musician said he had always remembered that particular year from the government initiative Wawasan 2020 (Vision 2020) back in the early 1990s.
“As a boy in school I had to visualise how the year 2020 would be like in art class and it was very exciting.”
“The sky was the limit and I thought there would be flying cars and other great technological advancements,” said Ng, who won two Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for his production of Space Age: The Phantom Power, an experimental musical performance on space exploration in 2013.
While technology has come a long way, there are still some things that haven’t come to fruition – flying cars included – but Ng is still very enthusiastic about the future.
He also explained that there’s nothing political about the showcase, which touches on the subject of human beings living on Earth.
“It questions what humankind has contributed to this planet and society,” said Ng.
The first staging of 2020 this year happens at Space.Toccata (39A, Jalan SS2/55, PJ) on Saturday (8.30pm) and Sunday (3pm).
Relying heavily on a science fiction narrative, the story follows the adventures of two clones in an experiment separated in time by a time machine that’s set in the past, present and future.
“I think the sci-fi genre has unlimited possibilities to portray all things with no boundaries.”
“The show will be a very visual experience with music and soundscapes,” he said.
Ng, who composed all the original music, added that the sounds will be a mix of acoustic and electronic elements that provides a very cinematic feel.
The theremin, an exotic electronic instrument, will also be featured in the show.
Ng will be collaborating onstage with local dancer, choreographer and current Toccata Studio resident artiste Steve Goh. The two will play the clone characters.
“People have always said that we really look alike, some even mistook us as twins. That’s how I got the idea for this piece to play clones,” said Ng of the over 40-minute experimental performance, which will include a post-show Q&A session.
He added that Toccata Studio has always aimed to be a platform for creative development and to compile and nurture talents.
“We are looking to work with artistes from different backgrounds and disciplines from around the world for 2020,” said Ng.
The lighting designer and stage manager for 2020 is PC Sei Chun Hing from Hong Kong and the show’s poster was created by Sunnie Yeo, a Malaysian graphic designer working in Norway.
“The term 2020 also denotes perfect vision.”
“And I remember when I was young my friends had all this dreams and things that they wanted to do but now they are doing other things and they feel a sense of regret,” said Ng.
He added: “2020 is just around the corner, so what we imagine it to be, we have to make it happen and contribute to changing things.”
Ng hopes that the show will serve as a reminder and to inspire people to look to the future and to choose what kind of environment and society they want to be in and to work towards it.
“We hope to inspire people to do more positive things and to apply some positivity to their lives and in whatever they do.”
2020
When: June 27 (8.30pm) & June 28 (3pm)
Venue: Space.Toccata, 39A, Jalan SS2/55, PJ
Admission by minimum donation of RM30
Call 016-3618504 , visit www.facebook.com/ToccataStudio or email etoccata@gmail.com