Okui Lala’s practice takes an autobiographical approach to explore themes that extend into the larger social, cultural and political milieu. Presented as a three-channel video installation, National Language Class: Our Language Proficiency simulates a classroom setting of a discussion amongst six people in different languages. Drawing upon research on education proposals in the 1950s, it captures the complexity and levity of multilingual conditions across different generations through the development of language policy planning in Malaysia. The work contemplates how vernacular and colonial languages continue to exist in friction with Malaysia’s national language and the consequences of policy from classroom to real world. This film was commissioned by Singapore Biennale 2019 – Every Step in the Right Direction and was exhibited at the Asian Civilizations Museum.

The screening of this 46 minute video installation qill be followed by an artist sharing, which will be joined by the curator of the Singapore Biennale, Goh Sze Ying. Link for video screening between 6pm and 9pm https://vimeo.com/383250251. Link for artist sharing at 9pm https://zoom.us/j/734393632

Chew Win Chen aka Okui Lala (b. 1991) is an artist and cultural worker based in Penang/ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her practice spans from video, performance to community engagement. Okui looks into the migratory background and translation process to explore the notion of home and identities of herself in extension with the larger social, cultural and political milieu. Recent presentations include shows at Yamaguchi Art Centre for Arts and Media (Japan, 2019), Para Site (Hong Kong, 2018), National Art Gallery (Malaysia, 2017) and Saitama Triennale (Japan, 2016), amongst others. Okui was a recipient of the 2017 Japan Foundation Asia Centre Fellowship Grant for her research on migration, mobilities and identities in Myanmar and Japan.