THE latest exhibition at Para Site, An Opera for Animals investigates the employment of societal mirroring techniques that create a bridge between our own realities and virtual reality as utilised in classical opera. Featuring works by Simon Soon, Beatriz Gonzalez, Cui Jie, Euan Macdonald and Ho Tzu Nyen, the exhibition explores the mythical, spiritual and symbolic representations and allegorical roles of animals in culture and art, the exhibition considers their influences on different operatic devices.
Para Site, An Opera for Animals. Ali Cherri, Hybrids E, 2018
Concerned with acts of staging that have been fundamental to our personal connections to culture, the exhibition is navigated through the channeling of irrationalities within a contrasting, tightly-controlled and artificial environment of an operatic setting. Such devices are at the core of an operatic setting and our own reflected contemporary reality, moulded by our desired artificial truths, the digital worlds we tandem with and the evermore discernible upcoming technology.  Similarly, the spirits of animals act as a gateway between our ancient beliefs and our current ones, which both dictate an irrationality and scepticism towards our future.
Para Site, An Opera for Animals – Yee I-Lann, The Ch’i_lin Of Calauit, 2005
An art form indigenous to both China and Europe, it seeks to dissect and further understand the anatomy of the human condition through the use of scenography, roles and acts. With the value of historical artistry in the forms of theatres, museums and other stages being called into question, the scrutiny and examination of such acts as a fecund vehicle to broker an understanding between these histories and our collective future.
Para Site, An Opera for Animals – Candice Lin, Sycorax’s Collection (Herbarium), 2011
by Robyn Ngan
The exhibition spans across two floors and will run from Saturday 23rd March to Sunday 9th June.