Phenomenology of Light

Phenomenology of Light and Rhythms of the Earth explores the meaning of light and urbanity through multidisciplinary elements. In our artistic collaboration, Zen Teh (visual art), SueKi Yee (dance), and Siden Kong (interdisciplinary art) are interested in opening up a space where people are invited to process, exchange, and reflect on their embodied perspectives on light and darkness.  

We’re curious to expand our multi-city research during our residency at Saari. As artists, our body will act as a sensor—exploring the initial, practical and pre-reflexive perceptions of light. Our embodied experiences while living and working in Saari serve as a starting point to elicit the complex entanglement of human-nature relationships and to weave a multi-dimensional discourse of light. Through public walking workshops, experiences are recorded as data, images, and personal reflections in various locations — Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Berlin, Singapore, and now at Saari Residence, to draw global connections. Particularly in Finland at the current period with long daylight hours, we’re curious to investigate the connection between light and life rhythms, as well as memories, urban development, environmental changes, and volatile global political states.  

Based on the database from our multi-city research, we visualize data through architectural construction, soundscape, multimedia data translation, dance, and tactile forms to communicate comparative studies of embodied experiences in various locations.  

Background:  

Zen first collaborated with SueKi in Berlin as part of Zen’s residency in Künstlerhaus Bethanien (2024), where SueKi participated in the workshop and subsequently created a performance specific to Zen’s immersive exhibition. Together, we expanded the research into Singapore’s urban context to create for Singapore Art Week 2025. In both editions, we worked virtually with Siden as an animator. In Saari, we’re working together for the first time as a trio in person, delving deeper into research, discourse, and creation processes, processing our project thus far and extending our research in Mynämäki, Finland.  

Artists:  

Zen Teh Shi Wei (Singapore)  

I am a Singaporean artist and educator whose practice explores the interdisciplinary connections between nature and human behavior. Working across photography, sculpture, and installation, my work reflects a deep commitment to environmental and social engagement. My recent works emphasize the use of sustainable materials and explore how art can function as a living platform—bringing people together through shared experiences, dialogue, and community engagement.  

zenteh.com

SueKi Yee (Malaysia-Germany)  

I am a Malaysian dancer-choreographer (currently based in Berlin) who’s drawn to improvisation, site-specific work, and multidisciplinary experimentation and collaboration. Movement has become my entry point into understanding and exploring other art forms – weaving movement with soundscapes, photo/videography, objects, and text. Significant themes in my works include (multi-)identities and fragmentation, memories, limitations and risks, the female body, and the ephemerality of the body, especially in connection to space and nature.  

https://linktr.ee/SueKiYee  

Siden Kong (Cambodia-Thailand)  

An interdisciplinary artist and a designer who interests in space and the transformations brought about by urban development and the rhythms of everyday life. My works utilize photography, light, moving images, sound, and spatial design to explore the impact of these changes on both natural and built landscapes, and our resulting sense of place. Blending the familiar with the surreal, I aim to create interconnected experiences that encourage audience participation and question our perception of human existence within these evolving shared spaces.  

https://sites.google.com/view/sidenkong/home