Event venue: The Substation Gallery
Event website: www.zentaiart.com
Opening: 19:30- (11/07/2014)
Opening Act: Performance Art, Zentai Walk
Gallery opening: 12:00-21:00 (11/08/2014-11/15/2014)
Artists:
Justin Lee (Singapore)
Brian Sergio (Philippine)
Xuyen Ho My (Vietnam)
Tan Ai Khim (Singapore)
This is a Zentai Art Festival exhibition, Opening: 7th November 19:30-
Opening act: 2 performance art and Zentai walk
Zentai is a short form for a word ‘zenshin taitu‘, full body tights. Zentai is also a word meaning ‘whole’ or ‘entire’ in Japanese. (全体).
Zentai suit was invented in late 60’s in Japan by Marcy Anarchy. It has not been practiced as a contemporary art form. Here in Singapore, we explore the possibility of what zentai can express. Zentai Art Festival 2014 is a first art festival focused on zentai in the world. The theme of the festival is to look beyond gender, age and looks to find something real. The fun part of sharing the zentai art is to transform ourselves into super hero that we dream in our childhood.
“The world is getting more and more materialistic. People say the world will not last long if we continue to consume the way we do now.
But I think we don’t need to look for a new invention that can save the world. I believe the key is to have fewer desires or identities. If we could live simply, and require less materially, the world could sustain its cycle.
When I see a group of people wearing zentai, I can identify female or male but nothing more. And maybe this is enough. We could live just as male or female but now we are playing too many roles in society, like nationality, age, job, education, family and so on. I think zentai can remind us that it is good to be ourselves, the self that exists beyond identities. A group of zentai people look like they are merging into one another as if they are one whole energy. Zentai not only takes away the identity but also the individuality. It is no longer 20 people standing together but one big energy standing. And I think this is what we really are. We are not separate from each other. We are actually just one energy. What makes us think we are different from other person is the ‘identity’. Identifying ‘my’ hair, ‘my’ skin, and ‘my’ thought, which makes everything complicated.
So zentai reminds me to be a simple being. And this simplicity touches the heart and the core of Human beings.” Yuzuru Maeda
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