Revolution Evolution, abbreviated into initials: RE, is a live performance show that combines a certain language of the environment and one of technology. Founder Ng Chor Guan and collaborators cycle in a city to collect sights and sounds and bring them on stage to be transformed into a live performance via professional audio and visual manipulation software. RE also reflects a certain ongoing trend in a world where global warming is a pressing issue: buzzwords such as ‘recycle’, ‘reuse’, ‘repurpose’ pop up everywhere around major cities in the world. RE proposes to inspire people to reduce their carbon footprint via cycling; this is made possible by ‘re’presenting a city through the eyes and ears of artists on bicycles.
The conception of RE began in the unforgiving cold of winter on a long distance cycling trip from London to Bonn, where founder Ng Chor Guan decided to test his limits by opting to cycle instead of flying from one city to the other. He discovered new ways of seeing the cities between London and Bonn on his bicycle; it also occurred to him that if he could cycle under harsh weather conditions, cycling in the humid but bearable weather in Malaysia should be more than feasible. This was his first bicycle tour – which was in year 2011; he has since cycled in cities of 13 countries, among them: France, Belgium, United States, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Cycling in the different cities of the world presented Ng Chor Guan with sensory experiences starkly different from traveling by automobiles; these experiences compelled him to create a show that was about ‘seeing’ a city from an artistic and contemporary point of view. Together with visual artist Fauzi Yusoff, Ng Chor Guan goes into a city on his bicycle and collects audio and visual material unique to the city or location. This material is then brought on stage to be transformed into a contemporary performance, where he will also play ‘music’ on his bicycle by creating sounds on different parts of the bicycle. Apart from wanting to present a city differently, Ng Chor Guan also hopes to evoke dreams and aspirations among his audience. His plans for RE involve going into places that are not metropolitan cities or bustling towns; he wishes to use RE to document the sights and sounds of the current era.
