Tianzhuo Chen & Siko Setyanto: Ocean Cage

In the organizer's words:

"Baleo! Baleo!" When this call is heard on the coast of Lamalera, the fishermen have spotted a whale. At the same time, this expression implies more, as it also means that with the appearance of the whale, the ancestors show themselves and offer a present, as a blessing from God. The ocean has opened up and offers its gifts. It is a call that challenges fate and has existed for centuries, in struggle, worship and redemption.

Rooted in the intricate yet affective narration in Lamalera village in Indonesia, Ocean Cage encompasses the entanglement among the whale, the fisherman and the ancestor. In the interspecies encounter with the sperm whale, the interrelationships of a complex ecosystem and the basis of solidary economic coexistence manifest themselves as well as a spiritual source and connection with the ancestors, interwoven like the links of a chain where a beginning and an end can no longer be determined. Audiences are invited to immerse themselves into the tender, still, afflicted ideological rift, to breathe and dissolve into the porous and leaking bodies of water, mammals, fisherfolk, ballads, breezes and spirits, reconsidering the interdependent relationships across species and how we can (re)understand the more-than-human justice.

In the immersive setting created by Tianzhuo Chen, Ocean Cage combines elements of installation, film and dance to create the space for the performance, in which Siko Setyanto becomes the central protagonist in changing characters. Together with the Indonesian musicians Kadapat and Nova Ruth, a visual, dance and musical maelstrom is created in which tradition and ecology, spiritually and technology, beliefs in progress and interspecies symbiosis are whirled together.

In his work, Tianzhuo Chen combines tradition and modernity, high culture and subculture, switching between different artistic genres - from visual art and theater to live art, music and video art. As an artist, he regularly produces performances, sculptures and video works, organizes club and concert series with his label Asian Dope Boys, and designs fashion. He is as active and productive on the Internet as he is in real life.

For his objects, performances, and video works, he uses a colorful, grotesque, and sometimes almost kitschy visual language dominated by direct references to Asian spiritualism, Butoh dance, voguing, and LGBTIQ+ iconographies. He interweaves preciously written stories, thoughts, and political statements with ritualized happenings of self-empowerment that reference contemporary club and counterculture.

He graduated in fine arts from Saint Martins and Chelsea College in London. In 2012, he returned to China, where he had a series of exhibitions that grew his reputation. With Chen's first overseas exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2015, he became known in Europe. In the following years,

Chen produced performances and exhibitions around the world and showed several of his works in Germany, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Tianzhuo Chen was born in Beijing, China in and is currently based in Berlin.

http://tianzhuochen.com

Siko Setyanto is a dancer and choreographer from Jakarta, Indonesia. He chose dance as a means of expression, opening up the opportunity to work extensively in multidisciplinary arts. Siko began his training at the age of nine with Wied Sendjayani at the Sanggar Maniratari, Solo.

The diversity of Indonesian culture in which Siko grew up and the opportunity to participate in jazz and ballet training as a child provide a strong foundation for Siko's dance and choreographic vocabulary. Siko founded the DRKR Kolektif as a medium for the exchange of information about contemporary dance, a network of dancers from Aceh to Papua, and as a training center for dancers and to support young choreographers.

In mid-2020, he co-founded Dansity Dance Company, which is dedicated to the setup of a professional contemporary dance company in Jakarta. He currently works as a dancer and choreographer with Eun Me Ahn Company in South Korea and regularly with Gabber Modus Operandi. He has worked with Tianzhuo Chen on the productions TRANCE and PHYSIS, where he was responsible for the development of the choreography in addition to his role as a dancer/performer.

Duration: 100 min.

During the performance, strobe lights and fog are used. There are passages with loud music, hearing protection is offered free of charge by the evening service. Fish is fried during the performance. There is a strong fishy odor. There is no traditional seating in the hall. The audience can move freely around the room. The play is performed in Indonesian with English surtitles. The play is also accessible without language.