Empire of the Swamp, 2023
Empire of the Swamp (2023) begins with a figure wandering from the mangrove swamps surrounding the city edges of Singapore to Bukit Brown Cemetery in the heart of the island, overgrown and rich with biodiversity, once the final resting place for 100, 000 people.
This green space is slowly being swallowed up, graves exhumed to make way for new roads and eventually new housing. A script, written by playwright Joel Tan, is a fable of nature and the repercussions of colonialism. A tale of a crocodile who comes upon the soul of a English soldier lost in the swamps.
Stills from Empire of the Swamp, David Blandy, 2023
David Blandy - Atomic Light, John Hansard Gallery
11 February 2023–6 May 2023
Empire of the Swamp was part of Atomic Light, David Blandy’s most ambitious solo project to date and expanded on his Artist Residency at Towner Gallery, Eastbourne in 2022. Featuring four newly commissioned films, it builds upon his continued interest in history, the legacy of empire and the climate crisis.
The tales interconnect through the story of Blandy’s grandfather, a British soldier interred in Singapore as a Japanese prisoner of war, who believed that the horrific atomic bombing of Hiroshima saved his life. The Edge of Forever and Empire of the Swamp were shot on location and feature the landscapes of the UK and Singapore. Archival footage is used in Sunspot, where two Observatories both detect the same sun on the day an atomic sun was made on earth; the Hiroshima bomb that killed 100,000 people. Similarly, in Soil, Sinew & Bone a history of war and a history of agriculture are mirrored, the fertile earth of phosphates and nitrates reflected into weapons of war.
Installation view: Atomic Light, David Blandy, John Hansard Gallery. Photo credit: Reece Straw
Empire of the Swamp was commissioned by John Hansard Gallery & Supported by Arts Council England
With thanks to Annie Jael Kwan, Jai Rafferty, National Parks, Singapore, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve & Bukit Brown Cemetery Heritage Singapore
Joel Tan is a Singaporean playwright based in London and Singapore. Recent work in the UK includes No Particular Order at Theatre503; When The Daffodils at the Orange Tree Theatre; Living Archive at the Royal Court; Ghosts in the Blood for Audible UK; Overheard, and Augmented Chinatown with Chinese Arts Now. He is under commission with the Royal Court, Headlong Theatre, and the Almeida Theatre.
In Singapore, his plays have been produced by leading theatre companies like Checkpoint Theatre, Wild Rice, and Pangdemonium, He is a Creative Associate with Centre 42’s New Writing Development Programme, and runs its Professional Development Residency for playwrights. Joel also works inter-disciplinarily, and has collaborated with visual artists, poets, musicians and dancers as a writer, director and dramaturg.
Empire of the Swamp
Director, Soundtrack & Voiceover: David Blandy
Script: Joel Tan
Camera: Jai Rafferty
Editor: Claire Barrett
Atomic Light was co-commissioned by John Hansard Gallery and Towner Eastbourne, with support from Arts Council England, Screen Archive South East and Elephant Trust.
