Clouds, Poppies, and Grass in Conversation with Poetry [2023, February]

On the 2nd last day of the group art exhibition Clouds Over the Poppy Garden as She Runs on Grass!, 11 performance artists participated in a 'conversation' between the artworks and poetry.

I haven't been to a poetry gig since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, so this was a lovely afternoon surrounded by good company and good vibes. I really enjoyed it :)

The Performers

The list of performers were as follows (in alphabetical order): 

• Poetry: 
• Abigail Lim
• Afi Noor
• Aiman Azri
• Dhabitah Zainal
• Effa Qamariani
• Kanchana Sirikit
• Rozhana Azra
• Swit Marie
• Umar Aziz 
  
  
• Music: 
• Azreena

The Performances

The event started near the entrance of Temu house, with Umar telling stories from childhood and on married life, accompanied with some flute playing. 

We then moved on to the Poppy area, where Effa weaved tales of sensuality and self-love. Dhabitah performed after, sharing her thoughts and feelings about her father, space, and self-acceptance (which made the Poppy artist, Xeem Noor, cry).

Next, we were taken outside to the garden where Afi Noor sat with a friend who was calmly preparing traditional tea. Afi shared her thoughtful piece inspired by Cassie's long ink painting (which took months to complete).

We were then brought to the Cloud/Grass area. Abigail Lim began with her poem on superstition related to bees, and Kenchana performed after with tribute poems of admiration for her boyfriend and then her best friend. Zhana was next, opening her performance with Wiki-esque explanations about clouds and a curious demonstration of a metal detector.

Aiman Azri was next. He stood at the upper floor and read from his yellow notebook writings from just hours before the event, much to the amusement of the audience below him. The last poet was Swit, who began her performance unearthing herself from a sleeping bag and then proceeded with what feels like an interpretative dance performance.

Azreena ties up the show with singing and piano; some of the audience members stayed to listen (to Taylor Swift covers etc) while the rest move around the exhibition to see the individual artworks.

Final thoughts

Since I knew a few people at the event, it was a pleasant afternoon and I managed to catch up with some of them. I really hope I get to attend more poetry gigs again in the near future.

Last Updated: 2023-02-23