Labu Videos

Inspired by the work of Malay showbiz icon P Ramlee, a Malay Muslim who made over 60 movies from the 50s to 70s in Singapore and Malaysia. His popularity spanned across all racial divide and social strata, and his memory is often evoked as a beacon for cultural pluralism and racial harmony. For this series the artist has re-created key scenes from four of P Ramlee's best known films, playing a total of 16 different characters from a comedy, a melodrama, a social drama and a Malay period drama. Many of the chosen lines are classic quotations that have entered the popular lexicon of Malay society. The scenes were chosen also for their depiction of social and sexual mores of the local muslim community at the time, some of which have since been censored. Relying on his limited knowledge of the Malay language, the artist can be seen repeating his lines in repeated takes of the same scene, along with a simultaneous transcription and literal translation in English in the subtitles - as in a foreign language instructional video. The work traces the artist's attempt in adopting a 'foreign' language and cultural traits, albeit in ways that are deliberately nostalgic, melodramatic, poetic, out-dated or outlawed.

Author: mecchagyaru Keywords: mecchagyaru katie kaychi kathryn arashi one love hyd hana yori dango matsumoto jun tsukasa domyouji oguri shun hanazawa rui makino tsukushi inoue mao satoshi ohno ninomiya kazunari nino masaki aiba sakurai sho jpop music songs song japanese japan labu final crushes moses dinosaur plushie boybands je johnny's entertainment Added: May 7, 2009