This December, find inner peace with OtherHalf Studio’s immersive sight and sound installation in Gurney Plaza.
By Lim Wan Phing
Sensory play, art therapy, and immersive art experiences. They sound like buzzwords for children’s development programmes. But one home-grown studio, conceived by two artists from Penang, have long been merging art, technology, and soundscapes into giant installations for the public to enjoy.
OtherHalf Studio, founded by high school friends Sumay C and Arty Guava in 2017, are creating their latest installation, OH!Tenang, to be held in Gurney Plaza from 9 December 2023 to 21 January 2024.
Tenang, which means calm in Malay, is an art exhibit with gentle moving sights and sounds from nature—a truly multi-sensory experience in all senses of the word. Suitable for children and adults, the inclusive space is also wheelchair-friendly and meant to be enjoyed by viewers from all walks of life.
Keep calm and step in for a breather
Speaking to Sumay, one half of OtherHalf, the artist says: “I came up with OH!Tenang to transport people to a place of calmness, and to invite them to slow down and smell the flowers.” The Penang-born artist explains that throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, friends have confided in how hard they’ve found it to cope with life.
“We live in cities and life can be so full of pressure, and I wish for everyone to find their inner peace and zen. For OH!Tenang, I’ve continued to combine two elements that are close to my heart: nature and my Peranakan heritage.”
Explaining that Peranakan design is usually strong in colours and patterns, Sumay brought in more toned-down elements for OH!Tenang, combining calm, muted visuals with traditional musical instruments like the gamelan, sape, and guzheng in the background that are meant to be tranquil and soothing.
Produced with a grant by Arts for All Seasons (ArtsFAS), Sumay says her goal for OH!Tenang is to create “a therapeutic and healing experience for all, rather than something triggering or Instagram-worthy.” She adds: “It’s a breathing space and it shouldn’t overwhelm people. It’s a place that exudes slow and gentle living.”
A journey of self-discovery
For OtherHalf, calm and slow was certainly not the experience at the beginning of their artistic journey. Both founders are self-taught artists; Arty Guava graduated with a degree in bioengineering while Sumay studied Business Marketing and Management.
The two went “rogue” on parental expectations and took the leap of faith to become full-time artists—a big learning curve that included self-doubt, fear of failure, and finding their fit in the industry.
OtherHalf debuted their first installation at the 2017 Rainforest Fringe Festival in Kuching, Sarawak. It was a “giant walk-through kaleidoscope”, a specially-constructed tunnel with images of the forest projected onto mirrors that rotate with changing patterns. A month later, they brought the same kaleidoscope to George Town Festival, this time with images of Peranakan tiles instead of nature.
It was this kaleidoscope concept that would go on to define the studio’s brand and bring them to places like Singapore’s Peranakan Museum, Asian Civilisations Museum, National Museum, and even the Penang International Airport. In June this year, OtherHalf also designed musician Alena Murang’s concert visuals at PJPAC in Selangor.
Go big or go home
In six short years, they have done incredibly well as artists. But why the fascination with large scale art? For Sumay, it is an iteration of her desire to be an architect or interior designer. “I never got the chance to be any of that,” she says, remembering her childhood love for sketching buildings and structures.
“Remember those essays we had to write in school, Cita-Cita Saya?” she laughs. “I remember wondering how to translate ‘interior designer’ into Bahasa [Malaysia], and I came up with something like ‘pereka’. So I think my childhood dream has been realised in a different way. And I love large scale art because a bigger space allows me more freedom to impart my creative energy onto it.”
Such large scale art experiences bring to mind Japan’s teamLab, most noted for their Future World exhibit in Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands. And Japan is exactly where Sumay goes to for inspiration, looking to architects like Shigeru Ban and sculptor Shinji Ohmaki.
Art that brings light, joy and inner peace
“I’m not a paint-on-paper kind of artist,” says Sumay, “but funnily I am learning Chinese art painting right now. Every artist goes on a journey of self-discovery, and post-Covid there is more awareness of seeing myself as a student and learner, rather than someone who knows everything. I’m inspired by so many artists across disciplines and I’m treating myself as a blank canvas all over again.”
For now, Sumay explains that she has reached a point where she wants her art to serve others and be a force for greater good. “I believe that art should be a physical experience, that’s why I want people to ‘walk into’ art and be immersed by it,” she says.
With projects already underway for 2024, she aims to put nothing but her heart and soul into every piece she creates. “For me, art is about how I make people feel. I want to bring happiness, and the best reward is when I see kids and families, regardless of background and ability, have a good time at our installations.”
OH!Tenang is an immersive art experience held at Gurney Plaza (7th floor, Old Wing, next to senQ) from 9 December 2023 to 21 January 2024. Art, music, and wellness programmes will also be run on weekends throughout the duration of the exhibition. Open from 11am to 8pm daily. Entrance is free.
Wan Phing is a Penang writer with a short story collection ‘Two Figures in a Car’ published by Penguin SEA.
All photos courtesy of OtherHalf Studio.