Here at Invurt we like art of all shapes, forms and styles – as long as its meandering through new and uncharted territory, and pushing the boundaries of what we perceive as art, it’ll be on our radar.

Tiffany Singh is one such artist. Although not what you would traditionally call a “street artist”, she does, however, create work that is often to be found there. With vibrant colour, and elements that directly invite the viewer to not only witness, but to interact with it, this New Zealand artists work has complimentary aspects of both beauty and function.

Our sometime NZ correspondant Cleo Barnett is currently here in Melbourne checking out a bunch of stuff for the Next Wave Festival. She spoke to Tiffany about her motives, explorations and got this great little interview for us. Read on, and be engaged …

Name, age, creative medium?

Tiffany Singh – 33 – Participatory Installation Based Artist.

Where are you based from? How has this impacted your art form?

I live in NZ but have spent years living in India. I am Samoan, Maori and Indian, and my ethnicity informs my work in relation to the sacred, ceremony and ritual. These conceptual elements are the basis of what my work is based on. My aesthetic is largely influenced by Eastern notions of offering and daily practice. The works materiality is often based around objects that are found at sacred sites or the everyday healing object such as spices, flowers, and holi powder. It engages audience participation and invites co-authorship by opening up the work for the viewer to realise.

In the case of Drums Between The Bells, the audience is asked to come and deconstruct my installation by removing a bell string from the ribbons and reinstalling the string of bells in their favourite sacred place in Melbourne. The audience is then requested to upload a picture or a video, and document the bells location onto Google maps so the bells can be traced and refound. If a bell is located it can be moved, in the hope of creating a living work of art. 

Its a conversation about what sites are considered special, or sacred, in a contemporary society, and it also generates a dialogue around whether a work can actually live through audience participation, and be able to develop a life span and movement of its own – outside of the initial artists install and concept.

How would you describe your art to a stranger?

Colourful, natural and open for engagement – with the hope of becoming a live entity.

What are you doing over in Melbourne?

I am apart of Next Wave Festival,and very much looking forward to realising a work that depends so much on audience participation, this is my first opened ended work, so the life expectancy of the work is very experiential for me, and its exciting to not know how the work will be resolved. Generating this work in such a vibrant and savvy city will hopefully facilitate the work and promote the enjoyment of being involved.

I’m also here to experience a new place – and, of course, meet new people.

How can we get involved?

By getting involved with the bells … moving them around and giving them a life. They will live at the Elm Tree, cnr Swanson and Collins St – you can choose your bell , take it to your sacred place and reinstall it in its new location, you can then photograph or film the bell and email the image / video of its current location to drumsbetweenthebells@gmail.com

Then, if you come across the bells at in other places, you can remove the bell and start again. Whats really interesting is that other works may happen as result, people could decide to move the bells to one site, or various selected sites, or it could be very personal – its the unknown outcomes that I am really interested in.

So, what’s next?

Up next is the 2012 Sydney Biennial, which again is a participatory install involving 3000 bamboo wind chimes.

Once again, the work invites the audience to engage and activate the work. The pilgrimage this time takes a chime from Pier 2/3 at the wharves, then take it home to decorate it, then reinstall it at building 61 on Cockatoo Island. After Sydney I have an artist residency in Bangalore, India where I’ll be learning cottage industrial and local handicraft practice, as well as engaging in public installs with local materials.

Where can we see your work?

You can see the work installed on the Elm Tree in City Square for the Next Wave Festival and at Pier 2/3 and Cockatoo Island in Sydney alternatively you can see the work online at www.tiffanysingh.com, and look out for all the bells that will, hopefully, be all over Melbourne!