Jalan Raya: Selasih Ku Sayang (Opening Lecture-Performance)

Esplanade Annexe Studio
May 9, 8pm

Jalan Raya is a strange, multi-limbed creature – part art installation, part art therapy, part lecture, part performance. 

With a programme that spans multiple days and genres, the opening lecture-performance Selasih Ku Sayang was just one tiny sample of the multidisciplinary buffet on offer. 

There was actually a mini buffet during the presentation, which kicked off the Esplanade’s annual Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts 2024. A procession of three desserts, created by home-based business Dapiku Sweets, sugar-coated the somewhat patchy series of presentations.

The latter included the opening ballad, Gurindam Jiwa, sung sweetly by performer Irfan Kasban; a thank-you speech in rambly Oscars fashion by the event’s curator-mastermind Zarina Muhammad; an intimate story by visual artist Hafi; and a sharing session on the kebaya and baju kurung by Kebaya Societe. 

For audiences more attuned to linear narratives and polished presentations, Selasih Ku Sayang was a challenge with unfinished edges and piecemeal structure. Yet, the wobbly rawness of some speakers, clearly unused to performing, contributed to an open sense of vulnerability. 

Once one gave up conventional expectations of linearity and coherence, the evening rewarded with flashes of tenderness.

Hafi’s tale of stumbling into her painting project, titled Pretty Grandmas, produced the most moving moments.

Bored during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, she rummaged through her parents’ belongings and unearthed photographs of her grandmother and grandaunts in their youthful heyday. Recreating these black-and-white photographs in colour gave her the chance to reconnect with her grandmother, who was in the early stages of dementia. 

Kebaya Societe’s presentation, anchored by eight mannequins sporting beautiful vintage kebaya and baju kurung, could have been improved by more stringent dramaturgy.

Founders Sufiyanto Amat Sopingi and Muhammad Afiq Juana have deep knowledge about Nusantara fashion, which they share on their Kebaya Societe Instagram account. Their tales about the women who wore the outfits on display barely scratched their stories’ surfaces.

The most engaging example was Saleha Mohd Shah, founder of Fashion magazine which sold 100,000 copies a month at its peak, who was “Anna Wintour before Anna Wintour”, referring to the British editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988. 

After the talks, audiences were invited to climb upstairs to explore more art installations created by nine artists.

The modest space was decked out in homely fashion, with a table displaying beautiful pottery. Another cluster of low tables invited visitors to pick a card and answer the questions therein, which query the nature of forgiveness, in keeping with the season’s sentiments. 

While the evening’s fare seemed a disparate bunch of unrelated parts, there was also some method to Zarina’s seeming madness.

The unexpected array of desserts conjured the warm hospitality of festive visits, during which one always ends up consuming too many calorific treats.

Hafi’s narrative, too, evoked the anecdotal sharing of family stories. The cards reminded audiences of the spirit of the season, calling for spiritual introspection and active contemplation. These elements somehow created a space that encouraged intellectual and spiritual exploration.  

There were tiny abrasive moments that niggle. Irfan’s song, presented without subtitles, shut out non-Malay speakers who would not understand the poetry in the lyrics, with its beguiling references to Nusantara’s landscape, including frangipani and a Chinese boy.

It was the same with the programme title, which references popular love ballad Selasihku Sayang about a separated couple, one of whom has to tend a basil plant left behind by the other.

These contexts, if shared with audiences, might have deepened their appreciation of the cultural richness from which this programme draws.

Book It/Jalan Raya

Where: Esplanade Annexe Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive
When: Till May 11, various timings
Admission: From $19.80
Info: str.sg/ab3c