“When in isolation, I notice that my anxieties and insecurities are amplified. I feel like I am falling into an echo chamber. My thoughts keep ringing over and over again. Over and over again. Until the inevitable decay.
*Sigh* The silence that follows is just as unbearable. So resonant. So fleeting. I am forced to recall the vastness of my existence. Here I stand listening to quiet trees. Wondering when they would fall.”
The Silence of a Falling Tree is an immersive sonic journey that draws inspiration from the existentialist notion of essentiality. Tracks are arranged like a guided meditation; woven with original compositions, instructions, dialogue, Foley, and field recordings.
Participants are to encounter the work at recommended locations, while observing social distancing measures.
Alternatively, you can also access this playlist on YouTube.
From 22 Nov, Sun
Track 1 – THE TREE
Location: Bedroom
Synopsis:
“I am the tree.
Concerned with my breath.
I feel energy coursing through my veins. I am rooted to this body. I can ground myself.
My awareness blooms like petals after the rain.”
Music track by Cheryl Ong
Guided by Grace Kalaiselvi
Instructions:
1. Find time to be alone in your bedroom.
2. Play the track on your earphones. *
3. Enjoy reconnecting with yourself.
From 29 Nov, Sun:
Track 2 – THE FALLING
Location: Supermarket
Synopsis:
”I am the tree.
Amongst a forest of trees. Concerned with my essentiality.
I feel myself contemplating my worth. I am light and free. I can value myself honestly.
My anxieties fall like shadows of the canopy.”
Music track by Raghavendran Rajasekaran
Guided by Bright Ong
Instructions:
1. Find time to be in a supermarket, one you regularly go to.
2. Ensure you observe safety regulations.
3. Play the track on your earphones. *
4. Enjoy putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.
From 6 Dec, Sun
Track 3 – THE SILENCE
Location: Park
Synopsis:
“I am the tree. Amongst a forest of trees. A fragment of this expansive world.
Concerned with my place in the intersection of time and space.
I feel my past, present, and future. I am a universe within a universe. I can remember to be.
My existence is proven by silent rings.
Music track by Azrin Abdullah
Guided by Umi Kalthum
Instructions:
1. Find time to be in a park you have not been to in a while.
2. Ensure you observe safety regulations.
3. Play the track on your earphones. *
4. Enjoy contemplating your voice in the universe.
* Data/Internet access is required for playback on your phone. Ensure that your devices are fully charged for the duration of the track.
12 & 13 Dec
Track 4 – The Silence of a Falling Tree
Location: Victoria Theatre
Synopsis:
"I am me.
Concerned with imagining the silence of a falling tree.
I am present, but your reality alludes me. I am the weight of waiting. I can suspend my disbelief.
My attention precedes your symphony.”
Music by Azrin Abdullah, Cheryl Ong, & Raghavendran Rajasekaran
Guided by Bright Ong, Grace Kalaiselvi, & Umi Kalthum
Publicity image by Moses Tan
Free with registration
COMPOUND is a collective led by multi-disciplinary artist, Irfan Kasban, to create works that are greater than the sum of its parts. Bound by the interest to create new transmutations in art, the collective aims to foster new methodologies, that continuously evolves.
Writer-Director:
Irfan Kasban
Sound Designers:
Ferry
Bings Lee
Composers:
Azrin Abdullah
Cheryl Ong
Raghavendran Rajasekaran
Voice Actors:
Bright Ong
Grace Kalaiselvi
Umi Khalthum
