NO SUBSTANCE is the inaugural showcase of Teater Ekamatra’s new two-month artist residency programme, which the company’s artistic director Fared Jainal believes will “expand its theatrical vocabulary” by incorporating new multimedia forms and disciplines.

The installation comprising of complex laboratory glassware mounted on copper pipes, will be held in Teater Ekamatra’s Greymatter Studio at Aliwal Arts Centre, is a continuation of Zul’s first-phase exhibition at Yeo Workshop in Gillman Barracks earlier this year.

From just five pieces in Phase One, Zul has expanded his exhibition to a 25-piece orchestra capable of playing 127 different notes. So far, he has written eight compositions for the musical sculpture, which will be performed while the works are on display.

The inspiration for NO SUBSTANCE, Zul says, came from the urban landscape of “developing cities,” which he describes as resembling “infrastructure without a soul.” He envisions NO SUBSTANCE as a meditation on the place of the human element in the big city. “The infrastructure, who is it for, really?” he asks. “Is it for us or for the economy? I mean, you need both, but there has to be a balance.”

The materials Zul employs in NO SUBSTANCE point to his preoccupation with the theme of “a manufactured city” devoid of people or soul. “In terms of the sound pieces, it’s empty, it’s just glass,” he says. “There’s no tone or melody to this piece.”

Zul Mahmod (b. 1975) is at the forefront of a generation of sound-media artists in Singapore’s contemporary art development. Zul’s practice signals a more encompassing and expanded visual arts sensory experience. Adopting a multi-disciplinary/multi-genre approach that includes drawings, prints, sculptures and ready-mades, Zul has exhibited in Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Japan, Italy, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Russia, China, Slovenia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Norway and Finland. Along with three other artists, Zul was one of the participants for the Singapore Pavillion at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, and is also the designer of the SingTel F1 Grand Prix Night Race trophy in Singapore.