Prelude: Song of Departure (2019)
The Extreme Journey of Perwira and the Calm Sea: In 3 Acts is Au’s continuation in the exploration of visible and invisible borders in various context, for instance historiography and the question of border in different sense. The Japanese intelligence agent, Tani Yutaka, was a member of F. Kikan, one of the intelligence departments of Japan in the 1940s. Yutaka spoke Malay fluently in the images created by the mass media. After born in 1911, Fukuoka, Japan, he moved to the North East of Malay Peninsula with his parents. He became a bandit out of revenge after his sister was killed. The story of Yutaka was made into movies in 1943 and 1989. And the TV show Amazing Harimao from 1960 to 1961 as well as the comic of the same name published afterwards, were also based on the same story. The Extreme Journey of Perwira and the Calm Sea: In 3 Acts reimagines the oceanic and life journeys of Tani Yutaka. Mixing Southern Cross, navigation system, the thinking, deploying and regrouping of the relationship between popular music and images, the project reflects the multiple facets of Japan, Taiwan, ASEAN countries, as well as the changing borders between South China Sea, Indian Ocean, the Pacific region and its shifting power dynamic. Prelude: Song of Departure, the Prologue of the project, applies the format of Karaoke to start the journey of Yutaka. The song of departure is a collage of the lyrics and melodies of The Song of Taiwanese Army, used to recruit Taiwanese to the army during Japanese Colonization, the theme song of Amazing Harimao and The Song of Southern Cross. Southern Cross was a significant astrological symbol used by the Japanese as a metaphor towards the South.
The Extreme Journey of Perwira and the Calm Sea: In 3 Acts is Au’s continuation in the exploration of visible and invisible borders in various context, for instance historiography and the question of border in different sense. The Japanese intelligence agent, Tani Yutaka, was a member of F. Kikan, one of the intelligence departments of Japan in the 1940s. Yutaka spoke Malay fluently in the images created by the mass media. After born in 1911, Fukuoka, Japan, he moved to the North East of Malay Peninsula with his parents. He became a bandit out of revenge after his sister was killed. The story of Yutaka was made into movies in 1943 and 1989. And the TV show Amazing Harimao from 1960 to 1961 as well as the comic of the same name published afterwards, were also based on the same story. The Extreme Journey of Perwira and the Calm Sea: In 3 Acts reimagines the oceanic and life journeys of Tani Yutaka. Mixing Southern Cross, navigation system, the thinking, deploying and regrouping of the relationship between popular music and images, the project reflects the multiple facets of Japan, Taiwan, ASEAN countries, as well as the changing borders between South China Sea, Indian Ocean, the Pacific region and its shifting power dynamic. Prelude: Song of Departure, the Prologue of the project, applies the format of Karaoke to start the journey of Yutaka. The song of departure is a collage of the lyrics and melodies of The Song of Taiwanese Army, used to recruit Taiwanese to the army during Japanese Colonization, the theme song of Amazing Harimao and The Song of Southern Cross. Southern Cross was a significant astrological symbol used by the Japanese as a metaphor towards the South.
part of The Extreme Journey of Perwira and the Calm Sea: In 3 Acts
04:45 mins, Single-Channel Video with mic and mic stand
