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Tirta Maya unfolds along three scalar chapters: the cosmic ocean, the womb and the underworld. The title of the work contains multiple meanings. One possible reading is a direct translation of the title from Javanese, which means sacred or still waters. At the same time, the title could also be translated to mean the light (of colours). Light presents itself as a spectrum of coloured wavelengths. Despite its absolute presence, light cannot be touched, contained or solidified.
This elusiveness—where something that seems tangible still slips right through your fingers—is approximated by way of a haunting langgam-dangdut soundtrack, which includes elements of Javanese gamelan, Javanese langgam style and dangdut groove. Distinct moments of call and response have been incorporated into the original composition, whilst its lyrical verses correspond to the three chapters, exploring creation mythologies, otherworldly beings and personal stories that have been passed through the generations. Responding to the call of song, the work features a whirling collage of visuals ranging from text, animated graphics, drawings, and both found and filmed footage. Reflecting this profundity, Tirta Maya builds an imagined archipelagic landscape where the sea becomes a connecting substrate for travel from one chapter to another.
Tirta Maya is the first of three music videos commissioned by the Singapore Art Museum for its Lost & Found: Sea Chanty Project. As the first commission to be released, Tirta Maya sets the stage for viewers to listen and contemplate the timeless universe.
About the artists
In navigating their composite backgrounds in diverse mediums, Rosemainy Buang and Zachary Chan engage in art-making with a multidisciplinary and experimental ethos, frequently collaborating with co-creators. The artists share a foundation in the traditional Indonesian gamelan musical ensemble. Within her role as a sound artist and gamelan practitioner, Rosemainy endeavours to interrogate, augment and extend the boundaries of traditional gamelan soundscapes, philosophies and aesthetics. Meanwhile, Zachary's focus centres on the visual landscape, drawing from his background in visual communications. In his personal practice, he seeks to unveil and examine religious frameworks and spiritual ecosystems through a queer lens.
About Lost & Found: Sea Chanty Project
Lost & Found: Sea Chanty Project is the first pillar of Lost & Found, a multi-phased curatorial project exploring the significance of archival documentation and records through artistic practices. By studying how artists collect what seems uncollectable, assemble that which resists assembly, and present that which defies visibility, Lost & Found engages with questions concerning the authoritative voice of archives and history.
The Sea Chanty Project seeks to breathe new life into traditional work songs from sea regions through contemporary interpretation. It brings together musicians, ethnomusicologists and visual artists to explore connections between the sea and labour, as well as human life and the sea.
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