| EXPRESSING THE “TOTALIZED VOICE” a manifesto |

Each medium has its limitations. One cannot fully express the complicated self if he chooses to resign in one or merely few mediums. It is not simply desirable, but essential to familiarize oneself with the myriad artforms, as they are different means of expression, in which allows you to find a "totalized voice" (an extension to Richard Wagner's Gesamkuntstwerk). It is irresponsible for an artist to indulge in one stream and not the full breadth of art. 

*This website therefore documents, professional or however amateurish, my journey into exploring my entire being. 

First stage: Observation and Appreciation. (Look at as much of the medium as you can get your hands on, and try and appreciate or critique it. For instance painting - you want to start looking at paintings from each art movement, from each country, from each artist. Find what you like and don't like, and never stop asking why that is. What does it say about who you are?)

Second stage: Learn. (Learn everything, then practice in focus. For instance music - learn to read a score, learn to play an instrument, learn to compose, learn to arrange, learn to mix. Take what you like about this medium, and learn as deeply as possible.)

Third stage: Application. (Apply what you've learnt into something you're familiar with. For instance a musician trying playwriting - listen to a song you've written, and let that inspire your play. How can you write it so that the music fits perfectly with the story, how do you pace it? What is the world like? What words would you choose? How long and short are each sentence? How much pauses are used? What is the mood? etc.)

Fourth stage: Adaptation and Transformation. (Now you've learnt enough about this medium. Explore what is unique about it. Why do you have to use this medium and nothing else. What makes it irreplaceable? In what circumstance does it trump every other medium? In what contexts does this medium makes the most sense? I did a dance film on 1984, because watching through a TV mimics the feel of surveillance, dance because characters don't think in words. Makes sense. I did an immersive theatre piece about an Art Heist, because theatre allow tactility, realness, and spontaneity to a degree that no other mediums can provide, I want the audience to feel the adrenaline rush as the heist happens.)

Rinse and repeat. And then you'll realize, that if you're an actor, learning singing will provide you an intuition to how you use your voice, pace your dialogues; if you're a visual artist, learning playwriting will provide you an intuition to how you construct a story that extends beyond the moment of the painting; if you're a director, learning dance will provide you an intuition to how you put actors in the space. It's time-consuming, but in the long run, it gives you fresh eyes that far exceeds your peers whom are focused on one thing. 

Art is an expression of the self, not a competition of technique. Art is meaningless without a totalized voice. 

It is counterintuitive, but for me, I always start with the idea, then I choose the medium. 

Then the medium will be in complete synchrony with the idea.