TRANSMIGRATION

FOR arts mode OF National university of singapore
2019

The concept that drives MODE19 is derived from the historical DNA of modern Singaporean society; migration and making a home in a new, foreign island. Transmigration can be simplified as ‘reincarnation’. In this context reincarnation serves as a metaphor for the very human act of immigrating. That is, moving from a previous life somewhere else to a new life in the here and now, while still retaining a sense of self. This latter clause is important: as the body migrates, the existing identity is not erased, but instead cohabiting with a newly crafted one; the condition of the migrant is to live twice at once.

Extrapolate this to a myriad of cultures congregating in Singapore long before she formalised as a nation-state. The intermingling of strikingly different cultures - the only common denominator being ‘newness’ to a foreign land - constitutes the core of Singapore’s historical identity.

Transmigration is MODE19’s celebration of the culmination by depicting the process of migration itself. Aesthetically, the showcase will lean toward nomadic wandering, emphasising the universality of travel. The mood of the showcase intends to encapsulate all the sensations of travelling into the unknown: fear, trepidation, wary hope, excitement, wide-eyed anticipation, and the desired to start anew.

press: rice media / Why Should College Pageants Continue To Exist?