3133 (Eric Lee) is inspired by notions of “troublemaking”. Disruption and the unexpected lie at the heart of his expanded cinema work, Misinterpretations of an Outbreak. Falling somewhere between the cracks of visual art, performance and cinema, this work utilises several filmmaking techniques and narrative tropes to understand Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPI) as a strategy of disruption in the factories of Singapore. At the core of this project is a letter addressed to a factory worker who was involved in an incident that occurred in January 1973. As the work progresses, initial attempts to make sense soon transform into gross misinterpretations that take shape in disruptive gestures.

Studies on productivity consciousness and its relationship to cleanliness, Confucianism and national values inform the images populating this expansive film. Montages of rapidly repeated scenes, an irreverent voiceover, and highly stylised images set against documentary-like aesthetic combine to form an innovative work that is delightfully impossible to pin down.

GB