Female anger as a force for action

The fifth edition of Objectifs' Women In Film & Photography showcase explores how rage can bring about change through art

Among the films to be screened at Women In Film are A Woman's Work - The NFL's Cheerleader Problem (2019, left), by China-born Canadian director Yu Gu, and Leftover Women (2019, left below), by Israeli film-makers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia.
Among the films to be screened at Women In Film are A Woman's Work - The NFL's Cheerleader Problem (2019, above), by China-born Canadian director Yu Gu, and Leftover Women (2019), by Israeli film-makers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia. PHOTO: COURTESY OF YU GU, SHOSH SHLAM AND HILLA MEDALIA
Among the films to be screened at Women In Film are A Woman's Work - The NFL's Cheerleader Problem (2019, left), by China-born Canadian director Yu Gu, and Leftover Women (2019, left below), by Israeli film-makers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia.
Among the films to be screened at Women In Film are A Woman's Work - The NFL's Cheerleader Problem (2019), by China-born Canadian director Yu Gu, and Leftover Women (2019, above), by Israeli film-makers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia.

A camp take on a 1980s Chinese wedding banquet by Singaporean photographer Lenne Chai will soon be on display at the Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film.

These warm, fuzzy photos celebrating the union of two women feature a rich palette of gold, red and green, and may seem at once jubilant and wistful.

Chai, 28, who is bisexual and now lives in New York, says the shoot was "a simple wish-fulfilment exercise: If I ever got to marry a woman, would I be able to have a traditional Chinese wedding?"

The photos will be on display at Objectifs' Chapel Gallery in Middle Road from Oct 11 to Nov 17, alongside works by other women, such as Bangladeshi activist and photographer Taslima Akhter, Berlin-based Dutch artist Mathilde ter Heijne and Iranian-Australian artist Hoda Afshar.

This group show, known as Women In Photography, is part of the fifth edition of Objectifs' annual Women In Film & Photography showcase, which brings together local and international female artists exploring a range of issues.

This year's theme is Remedy For Rage. Objectifs co-founder Emmeline Yong says movements such as #MeToo, Occupy and Black Lives Matter have often been "fuelled by anger and frustration at an ostensible lack of political will or means to effect systemic change".

"Anger - and in particular, female anger - has often been seen as taboo or a negative emotion," she adds.

"So we wanted to explore how rage against discrimination, repression and injustice can be channelled into a force for awareness, dialogue, empathy, action and change through art."

One major highlight of the programme is Women In Film, which will screen five international feature films from tomorrow to Saturday.

  • VIEW IT /WOMEN IN FILM & PHOTOGRAPHY 2019

  • WHERE: Chapel & Lower Galleries, Objectifs, 155 Middle Road

    WHEN: Tomorrow to Nov 17, noon to 7pm (till 4pm on Sundays), closed on Mondays and public holidays; Women In Film runs from tomorrow to Saturday; short film screenings and Women In Photography exhibition run from Oct 11 to Nov 17; Women In War performance talk runs on Nov 9, 2.30 to 3.30pm

    ADMISSION: Free, except for Women In Film ($8 a screening; $35 for season pass) and Women In War talk (entry by donation)

    INFO: For details on registration, artist talks and post-show discussions, go to www.objectifs.com.sg/wifp2019

These works range from Leftover Women (2019) by Israeli film-makers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia, which follows three Chinese women who want to find love on their own terms; to Alice (2019), a French movie set in Paris by Australian director Josephine Mackerras, about a mother drawn into the world of high-end prostitution.

There will also be a series of short films by five Singaporean female artists from Oct 11 to Nov 17, and a Women In War performance-talk by researcher and photographer Nurul Huda Rashid on Nov 9.

Chai, whose photos originally appeared in the online magazine Issue, came up with the idea for her project last year, during the debate surrounding Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men.

One of the models in her photos is actress Victoria Loke, who played Fiona Cheng in Crazy Rich Asians.

Chai adds: "A lot of the time, when people talk about queer rights, they end up talking about very abstract, intangible things.

"With the shoot, I was thinking of how it's an intimate, personal thing that affects people in real life."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 01, 2019, with the headline Female anger as a force for action. Subscribe