Opening Reception, Computation Rehearsal

Computation Rehearsal presents Ruiqi Zhang’s recent artistic practice, including a simulation project in collaboration with artist Weitong Sun, alongside an animation clip generated by algorithms. These works explore the layered meanings of computational language, unfolding in the form of improvisational theater that envisions an alternative animistic future shaped by technological acceleration.

In the exhibition, the twelve principles of animation are restructured, liberated from the constraints of human precision editing, and returned to a primordial state of behavioral and environmental exploration. Unpredictable movements are executed by code and simple brains in Unity. Spirit-channeling ravens, sentient mining machines, ceaselessly hovering drones, and the corpse of a deer are conceived as autonomous characters; each with their own backstory, personality, and behavior state. They operate through unique internal logics and are treated as independent agents. This theatrical structure serves as an epistemology, a way of seeing and understanding that opens new possibilities for imagining post-human sociopolitical, cultural, and speculative modes within computational environments. 

About Artist

Ruiqi Zhang (b. Liaoyang, China) is a multimedia artist who works with moving images, video installations, and game engines to explore the complexity of emerging technology and computation as an alternative narrative container. His work highlights the ability of people today to read complex information and its impact on our daily lives while forming new modes of politics, aesthetics, and consciousness. He earned an MFA in Kinetic Imaging from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is an Assistant Professor of Digital Storytelling at the University of Missouri. 

About INSTINC

Founded in 2004 by artist Yeo Shih Yun, INSTINC is a leading artist-run institution based in Singapore. With a distinguished presence in the arts ecosystem, INSTINC diligently sustains the growth of contemporary art through exhibitions, residency programs and curations. Their esteemed Artist-in-Residence program has cultivated invaluable regional and international networks since 2009. INSTINC is celebrated for producing immersive, large-scale exhibitions that encompass installation, new media, performance, painting and sculpture, showcasing the diverse range of artistic expressions. 

Notable collaborations include partnerships with renowned brands such as Volvo and Guinness, further demonstrating INSTINC's commitment to fostering cross-disciplinary exchanges. Moreover, INSTINC takes immense pride in organising the highly anticipated INSTINC D:Art Festival 2022, generously supported by UOB Bank and the NAC start fund.

INSTINC continues to foster creative individuals and collective practitioners by establishing a platform for cross-disciplinary exchanges with their relocation in Tanjong Pagar Distripark. With expertise in exhibition curation, commissioned works and brand alliances, INSTINC endeavours as a vital presence in the cultivation of contemporary art.