Jason

Have you seen this artwork at Mountbatten MRT station? Whenever I visited @nacsingapore , I will encounter Jason Wee's ‘Lord Mountbatten Thinks of Pink' (2010) and wondered about it. Chapter 2/5, ‘Camouflaged Choreographies: The Public Secrets of Jason Wee's Practice,' reads several of @jasewee 's works that spans a decade for the choreography he performs with the act of gay cruising. Building on the diagram from Chp. 1, I argue that ‘camouflaged choreographies' are what artists in Singapore perform (what @alvinecessary calls dancing within a very tight space). We tread the boundary between transparency and opacity, from 'doing something' to 'being instrumentalized' responding to etiolated conditions cultivated by the State, its agents, and the circulation of capital. I read ‘Lord Mountbatten Thinks of Pink' as the dusty pink naval camouflage Mountbatten devised during WWII, and as an act of camouflage itself, a ‘public secret' hiding in plain sight. I then turn to Jason's recent work, which began as an Exactly Foundation residency titled ‘Commonplace' (2018), shapeshifting into ‘Uncommon Choreographies' (2020-present). These works draw on photos taken at cruising spots, which saw a resurgence during the pandemic's ‘return to nature' phase. Jason works through layers of obfuscation and calibrated opacity to produce what Sianne Ngai names as a visceral abstraction through aesthetics. You might rightly observe: isn't this what queer artists have always done? Yes. But I argue that the State's selective blindness toward its constituents, the refusal to see what is in front of them, is what makes queerness in SG strangely queerer. As Jason puts it, in an email correspondence that informs my study: ‘We are public secrets, we stand in public spaces and without beginning to, without deliberately covering or passing or hiding, are already hidden and passed over and overlooked.' I close by turning to Jason's other practice, the "luxury we cannot afford," reading an excerpt from ‘Walk Walk Only: A Choreography' in his 2026 collection ‘Dance Time.' I ask: What does it mean to expose what is intended to be hidden to the scrutiny of overexposure?

chatting with Dr Marcus Tan this Saturday at the launch of Theatrimusicality, a book that offers a compelling new way of thinking about the relationship between music and theatre in Singapore. Moving beyond the idea that they are separate forms, Marcus explores how musical and theatrical elements work through one another in performance, shaping how meaning is created, perceived, and felt. Drawing on examples from a range of cultural contexts, Marcus’ book invites audiences to reflect on performance as a rich, layered encounter in which sound and sight are deeply intertwined. The performances analysed in this book and the Singapore artists featured include – Margaret Leng Tan, Ming Wong, Siong Leng Musical Association and my own work, Quora Fora: A Rehearsal. Currently an Associate Professor of Drama at Nanyang Technological University, Marcus Tan is an internationally engaged scholar of theatre and performance whose work spans music and theatre studies, sound studies, intercultural performance and Asian Shakespeares. Apart from having published extensively in these areas, Marcus is also an advisor to SoundscapeSG, a sound map and sound archive by the National Archives, Assistant Editor of Theatre Research International and Secretary-General of the International Federation for Theatre Research.

My first reading in Singapore from the new book ‘Dance, Time’ published by @dakota_books_as_we_are , come by for a drink and listen to @secretmanta_ray ask me tough questions I may not have answers to 🤓 25 April (Sat) 5pm

𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨 Join us for the launch of 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨 (Wendy’s Subway, 2025), a publication by our former Artist-in-Residence 𝗧𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻 gathering fifteen years of the artist’s scripts! On this occasion, Coburn presents a new monologue entitled 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 inspired by 𝘈 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 (1980), a one-person performance by the American actor and writer Spalding Gray (1941–2004). Moving through a set of index cards bearing the names of plays he acted in, Gray told stories related to those productions, dwelling on events unfolding behind the scenes. As the order of the index cards was random, no two performances were ever the same. In Coburn’s version, each of his cards indicates the name of a person who has a role in the book: an academic he interviewed for a project, an amorous attendee to one of his monologues, his collaborator Susan Bennett (the original voice actress of Siri), a data center employee who insulted him, and more. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 brings focus to his many collaborators and the monologues they helped create. The performance will be followed by a conversation between 𝗧𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻 and artist/writer 𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗲. 📅 Tuesday, 21 April 2026 ⏰ 7.00 – 8.30pm 📍 The Hall, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore 🔗 Free registration – link in bio 🖼️ [1] [2] [3] 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 by Tyler Coburn (Wendy’s Subway, 2025). Photo: Justin Lubliner. Courtesy of the artist and Wendy’s Subway. [4] Portrait, Tyler Coburn, 2026. Photo: Siqi Zhu. Courtesy of the artist.

@iaspis.se is celebrating 30 years! Artist Dora García, curator and writer Maria Lind, and artist Jason Wee come together for presentations exploring different topics regarding art, politics and cultural institutions. Moderated by Corina Oprea. Tuesday, April 21, 2026 6:00 PM 7:30 PM Konstnärsnämnden IASPIS 30_ Graphic design Jonas Williamsson (1).jpg

@loozihan , M and I are very excited to share with you the programme for the upcoming Assembly. We are looking forward to listening, sharing and learning from you and each other, and to being together. Seats are filling up near capacity. Please register here: /iesyl74o If we reach capacity, we will be reaching out to you about the waitlist. No Uniform: An Assembly for Queer Studies 21 March, 2026 (Saturday) 1-6pm @proudspacescentre

repost @nordbooks We have an event coming up this weekend! On Saturday, we have the pleasure of hosting a reading with two poets - Jason Wee and Johannes Heldén. Jason Wee is an artist and a writer. His poetry books include An Epic of Durable Departures and From A (Undesirable) Diary, both shortlisted for the the Singapore Literature Prize. His art practice migrates restlessly between architecture, photography, drawing, textile, the book, and the lyric.   Johannes Heldén is a visual artist, writer and musician. His interdisciplinary works deals with ecology, poetry, sentience and narrative structures. His new poetry book, Modern mytologi, will be published by Albert Bonniers Förlag in the fall. The readings will be followed by a talk held by our friend Max Alletzhauser. Max Alletzhauser is a poet and translator from Johannesburg. He leads the Contemporary Poetry study circle at Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus with Elizabeth Clark Wessel, and is part of the studio collective Slakthusateljéerna. We do hope to see you on Saturday at 17.00. There will be wine and books for sale. Perfect way to start the evening.

Performing new work from the latest book @iaspis.se Walk Walk Only Public rehearsal of a poem‑as‑choreography by Jason Wee Date: Tuesday 10 February 2026 Time: 6:30–7:45 PM Place: IASPIS/Konstnärsnämnden Address: Maria Skolgata 83, Stockholm Language: English Free admission, no reservation needed 📌With dancers Luca Seixas, Anton Skaaning Thomsen, Lilian Steiner, Johanna Tengan Followed by a conversation with Valentina Desideri You’re invited to a public rehearsal and the first reading of “Walk Walk Only”, a poem-as-choreographic-score in Jason Wee’s new poetry collection “Dance, Time” (2025). “Dance, Time”, comprising of two long poems, and concerns itself with the entanglements between bodies, movement, the force and direction of desire, and time. In “Walk Walk Only”, the poem reads the forms and conditions of a poem—its negative spaces on the page, its caesuras, its compression—as denotations for changes in rhythm or beats, in distance or in spacing and positions, or in time and speed, or as instructions. Crucially, the poem-score draws lessons from close observations and participation in public cruising that Wee has done, especially during the COVID years. Through collaborative interpretation with dancers, the rehearsal opens the work into movement, gesture, and rhythm. The poem becomes a set of shared instructions—read, tested, and negotiated in real time—opening an exploratory space between poetry and choreography. The presentation is followed by a conversation with ▪️Valentina Desideri, an artist and a researcher at the Centre for the Arts and the Political Imaginary (CAPIm) at the Royal Institute of Arts & HDK-Valand in Sweden. She holds a PhD in Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice (University of British Columbia, Vancouver), a Master of Fine Art (Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam) and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance-Theatre (Laban, London). ▪️Jason Wee, IASPIS Artist in Residence is an artist and writer based in Singapore, working across contemporary art, architecture, poetry, and photography. Read more https://www.konstnarsnamnden.se/en/calendar/walk-walk-only/ Image: 1. Jason Wee. 2. Valentina Desideri. Photo: Alexandra Ivanciu.

it’s been … a year! can’t say I’ll miss 2025, but I did get to holiday with my brothers’ families in Taiwan for the first time, climb the hills of Bergamo, finished my fifth poetry book, and begin the next year in this IASPIS residency. What’s it like after a month or so in Stockholm? 🔻the House of Q is an interesting study for what Proud Spaces can be, if we had our own building 🍜 the best bowl of Japanese noodles so far is the spicy udon at Mama Wolf. I’m committed to trying at least ten spots, so stay tuned 🐷holiday marzipan pigs are delicious 🌞 the sun sets the Katarina church on the Solderman hill ablaze, and is the best spot for the rays that beats winter blues 🌖 yes it’s an illusion but sometimes you really want to fly to the moon Happy New Year everyone! First photo credit: C, of cos

My new book is ready O.o o.O thanks to Mr Fong at Dakota Books Jason Wee’s fıfth collection ‘Dance, Time’ grapples with the ways time, desire, and self are entangled through two long poems. Though both poems are sharply distinct, they are drawn together by Wee’s interests in movement, timekeeping, and choreography. With introspection, longing, vivid imagery, as well as philosophical musings on nature and mathematics, Wee explores the rhythms and intensities involved in any one body moving closer or away from another.

It’s been a week now since I’ve moved to Stockholm, will be here till February for an IASPIS residency. I asked for the winter session, but snow came early and I packed way too light 🥶 so off to the vintage stores where I found a “Totoro 1988” bomber jacket, missing two buttons but the embroidery is in fantastic shape. Other impressions: - I love coffee here. please say fika to me - Swedish pastry when it’s sweet is verrrry sweet - iced leaves shimmer better than Swarovski - winter but an ice cream truck still goes around. Thinking of Taipei, at first I thought it was the recycling truck… - I’ve found hair ties on the street every other day or so now. Will it continue?

[WA-2020_04] PostSuperFutureAsia (2020) — where the voice began Before diagrams, there was the travelling writing workshop. These pages shaped 1309 and the city’s breath—prompts, routes, excerpt, and the first link from fabulation → protocol.