Filmed in East Java (Indonesia), Melaka (Malaysia), and Melbourne (Australia), this experimental dance film dissolves the lines between documentary and fiction, performance and trance, dream and memory, time and place, self and other.
Equally visceral, wild and tranquil, it is a visual poem and ritual of loss, longing, catharsis and rebirth.
In Becoming Imperceptible, two dancers – Tony Yap and Jack Riley – are guided by Javanese “bull trance master”, Agus Riyanto, in a series of animistic possession rituals. Channeling energies that suggest other species or “more-than-human” beings, their bodies writhe, contort and transform through both serene and frenetic entries into trance states, induced by movement, breath and intense sensory stimulation.
Separated by 40 years in age, and vastly different cultural backgrounds, the two performers find intimate synergy in their shared desire for physical and spiritual transcendence through dance. The film captures performances of trance across three countries, merging elements of traditional and contemporary culture.
Credits:
Directed and produced by: Adele Wilkes
Performance: Tony Yap, Jack Riley and Agus Riyanto
Concept: Adele Wilkes, Tony Yap and Jack Riley
Spoken Word: Tony Yap
Camera and sound recording: Adele Wilkes
Editing and effects: Adele Wilkes
Sound design: Adele Wilkes and Reuben Lewis
Sound Mix: Reuben Lewis
Music composed and performed by:
Reuben Lewis (trumpet and electronics), Scott McConnachie (saxophone), R. Ay Sri Kadaryati Ywandjana (vocals), Unen Unen Rengel
Special thanks:
The arts community of Batu, Indonesia
Agus Riyanto and Anjani Batik Galeri
MAPFest Tony Yap Company
Testing Grounds, Melbourne
Sagitama Krisnandaru
Yuli Hartono
Filmed in:
East Java, Indonesia
Melaka, Malaysia
Melbourne, Australia
2023-2024
An early development stage of this work was screened at MAPFest, Melaka, Malaysia in August 2023, and excerpts were projected during the live performance ‘Animalising; Becoming Animal / Intense / Imperceptible’ in Midsumma Festival, Melbourne, Australia in February 2024.
Becoming Imperceptible (2024)
13 minutes
Single channel digital video, stereo sound