Hard News Article with a blend of some elements Op-ed and Feature articles:
Marc Nair, Singaporean Poet and Photographer
Marc Nair has recently visited the United World College of South East Asia East Campus (Friday the 19th of January).
Marc Nair is a poet and a photographer who is from Singapore. He has organized and participated in many artistic events as well as collaborating with many artists from around the world.
He has also published seven volumes of poetry as well being the co-founder and principal photographer in his online cultural magazine: Mackerel.
The title of his presentation was “writing against” referring to his approach to poetry and other forms of art. During his presentation, he did several performances where he would act out and read out his poems.
One of the performances was a poem that was written as a song lyric about cliches which he sang about.
He believes that more people should be “more supportive of artists” and described some of his struggles as a Chinese-Indian, where he believes that “radial quotas limit actions” and how “racial classification” determines the actions around us.
Marc Nair talked about how he has an “itchy eye” for themes, issues, messages and culture which explains his diverse set of poems that cover many forms of art.
He described how a lot of his poems are based on what is happening in the media. He also talked about how he often criticises issues and looks at them at unique angles.
When he is vocally performing his poems, he brings a lot of feelings, emotions and elements of drama to captivate his audience about his messages, sometimes involving humour.
Here is some of his work that he talked about during the presentation:
Spomenik: Poems and Photography by Marc Nair
One of his most recent works that he talked about in his presentation is this book which features photography from the Balkans.
He talked about how he wanted to photographs to “speak for themselves” rather than the poems to dictate the photographs.
It is a collection of photographs as well as poems to go along with them where he explores history, faith, war and culture.
This is one of his travels poems where he wanted to “[find] the frame” as well as to “circumnavigate” around trends and “memification” of travelling and experiences in order to become more unique.
Intersection: by Marc Nair and Nicola Anthony
This is one of his most recent volumes where it explored maps, geographies names, culture, stories and histories in Singapore, London and Yangoon.
This Is Not A Saftey Barriers: by Marc Nair
Marc Nair highlighted that the name came from signs that were written on barriers covering constructions sites in Singapore.
This book is about the search for Identity in Singapore as the city always changes. Although from Singapore himself, instead of commemorating to Singapore he has decided to travel along an unorthodox approach to poetry like many of his volumes and artistic works.
He describes how Singapore is “constantly under construction, both physically and ideologically“. His photographs and poems illustrate his criticisms and feelings towards Singapore.
Marc Nair’s first volume: Along the Yellow Line
Marc Nair talked about how “identity is a recurrent theme in [his] poems“. This book is the symbol of identity as well as the quest for the search of it.
On a funnier note, he said that since that volume, he has never published a novel with his face on it as he dislikes the idea of it.
This book also describes the need for change in the “notions of identities” found around the world.
Image of one of his earliest volumes: Animal City: Poems by Mac Nair and Art by Vanessa
Postal Code: by Marc Nair
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Quick Reference:
Here are my notes:
Reference of images and information:
http://www.singlitstation.com/calendar/2016/9/17/launch-this-is-not-a-safety-barrier
