Curated by Siew-Wai Kok, this is a special KLEX screening program featuring video works from South East Asia. The program will include works from video artists from this region and foreign artists who have traveled to the region and make work about it.

Most South East Asians like strong flavored dishes, mixed spices and paste that often carries a unique aroma such as Tom Yam Kung (popular Thai soup). The ingredients of Tom Yam includes refreshing herbs such as lemongrass, Thai Basil, Kaffir lime leaves and coriander, mixing with stronger herbs that can cause a bit of adrenaline rush such as galangal, chili peppers and tamarind. It is the mixture of a little bit of everything that made up the delicious spicy and sour soup. Living among various ethnic groups and languages in a yet-to-defined, developing environment, we are somewhat used to uncertainty, imperfection and improvisation. To laugh when experiencing mistakes and pain, to have hope when facing disappointment, to create our own way (because there’s no other way) to the right path in chaos, to regain faith when the first drop of rain appears after a long dry season.... Sweet, sour, bitter, spicy – all these are tastes of life.

“Tropical Seasonings” is a special KLEX screening program featuring 12 videos from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, UK and USA. The program includes works from artists originally from South East Asia, and foreign artists who have traveled to the region and make work about it. It’s interesting to see both the residents’ experiences and the visitors’ observations in this region. Featuring artists include Andrew Stiff, AU Sow-Yee, Azharr Rudin, Debora Bernagozzi, Jason Bernagozzi, Koji Tambata, KOK Siew-Wai, LIM Chee-Yong, Maulana M Pasha, Taiki Sakpisit, WONG Eng-Leong and Wuttin Chansataboot.

List of Artists & Works:

1. Andrew Stiff (UK/Malaysia), “Gong Xi Fa Cai Part 2”
2. AU Sow-Yee (Malaysia), “Ruins I”
3. Azharr Rudin (Malaysia), “Colorfool”
4. Debora Bernagozzi (USA), “Green Cloud Temple”
5. Jason Bernagozzi (USA), “Memory and Ritual in Frame Difference”
6. Koji Tambata (Japan/Thailand), “The First Rain”
7. KOK Siew-Wai (Malaysia), “Mud Game”
8. LIM Chee-Yong (Malaysia), “Lulai”
9. Maulana M Pasha (Indonesia), “The Endless Steps”
10. Taiki Sakpisit (Thailand), “A Ripe Volcano”
11. WONG Eng-Leong (Malaysia), “Mist”
12. Wuttin Chansataboot (Thailand), “16x9 Capsule”

KLEX is a fully independent artist-run grassroots international festival of experimental cinema fouinded in Malaysia in 2010. KLEX aims to serve as a platform to introduce contemporary experimental cinema from the region and around the world to the Malaysian audience and to cultivate understanding, learning, friendship and exchange among local, regional, and international experimental film communities.

KLEX: www.klexfilmfest.com / www.facebook.com/klexfilmfest
Taiki Sakpisit: www.taikisakpisit.com
Wuttin Chansataboot: wuttinchansataboot.com
Andrew Stiff: www.stiff97.com
Au Sow-Yee: vimeo.com/user5197614
Azharr Rudin: www.azharudin.com

Siew-Wai Kok is a video artist, improvising vocalist, and independent artist-organizer. She received her B.A. in Media Study at SUNY Buffalo and M.F.A. in Electronic Integrated Arts at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, USA, where she lived from 1998-2005. Siew-Wai has shown her videos and performed locally and internationally since 2001 in USA, Canada, Europe, and Asia, participated in festivals such as Busan International Video Art Festival 2013 (Korea), Video Art Attack! 2013 (Belgium), Bangkok Experimental Film Festival 2012, Malaysia-Japan Video Art Exchange 2009-2010, Kuala Lumpur Contemporary Music Festival 2009, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2007, Les Rencontres Internationales 2007 (France), Choppa Eclectic Improvised Music Festival 2008 (Singapore), Beyond/In Western New York Biennial 2005 and more. Siew-Wai is the co-founder of alternative artist collective SiCKL (Studio in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur), co-director of Sama-sama Guesthouse Mini Alternative Art Festival 2010 and co-coordinator of Notthatbalai Art Festival 2007. As festival director & curator of the Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film & Video Festival (KLEX) since 2010, Siew-Wai has been actively connected with the international experimental art communities, and has curated special KLEX screening programmes to be shown locally and internationally in Belgium, France, Korea, Germany, Thailand and USA. She is currently teaching at the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, Malaysia.