Infinite Saree by
Biological Arts Theatre
(BAT)
A Theatre performance which is incorporated with biological art creations and ancient mythologies to address the future of humanity.
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Infinite Saree by Biological Arts Theatre (BAT)
Proposal for Infinite Saree
1. Aims / Objective of project
Aim:
An Asian performance theatre, tentatively called the ‘Infinite Sari’. It will be developed through
several biological art workshops, 3D film workshops, and dance workshops, using scenes from the
Mahabharata dealing with creation, life and death as the inspiration.
Objectives:
Introduce Singapore artists of all kinds to the rapidly developing new area of biological art and
establish a biological art movement in Singapore.
1. Establish the first major collaborations between artists, dancers scientists, and 3D
Filmmaker leading to other potential creative projects
2. Establish Singapore as a world leader in the development and creation of biological theatre,
an entirely new art form, leading to world media, scientific and artistic attention that will
generate other collaborative projects in these areas
3. Increase skills and pride in Singapore artistic production locally
4. Identify potential new industries in the creation of biological art works suitable for
incorporation with traditional weaving, costume-making, music and other art forms
It will be the world’s first biological theatre production and inevitably new techniques and outcomes
will be the result as a large number of talented artists from all disciplines create new art works using
biological techniques. No one in the world has as yet attempted such a large-scale, public event
using biological and human actors working together.
2. Brief description of project
This project began with an initial alliance between performance artist S. Chandrasekaran, dancer
Santha Bhaskar, scientist Gary Cass and 3D film maker, Steve Rice. Also, it will expand to include
close collaboration with art institutions in Singapore (Nanyang Academy of Arts and LASALLE, College
of the Arts).
The Infinite Saree will be the world’s first biological Asian theatre work. It will draw on the biological
life sciences, performance, music, visual art and elements of the Mahabharata, one of the world’s
great works of literature.
The Infinite Saree idea will be developed out of several workshops. An interactive web site will
develop worldwide and local interest and serve as an educational tool and also as a promotional
vehicle.
The Infinite Saree will call on highly skilled performers, musicians, visual artists and scientists to
create a theatre event highlighting the great themes of humanity, our relationship to all life on
Earth, and our perilous future. It is the story of our past and our future as seen through the
interaction of the biological life sciences and the arts.
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Infinite Saree by Biological Arts Theatre (BAT)
3. Methodology / Implementation of project
Stage 1: Initial research
In December 2009, Santha Bhaskar, S.Chandrasekaran Gary Cass, and Steve Rice will meet in
Singapore to establish the project concept and seek expressions of interest in working together with
relevant institutions.
A web site will be created to document, promote and develop the project. The web site will include
video interviews with practitioners, video of the biological art workshops and rehearsals, music
samples and blogs, that will encourage inclusion and act as a promotional tool.
Stage 2:
Bio- Art workshops/3D Film Workshops
The Gary Cass, Lab scientist will run a Bio-Art Workshop which will teach laboratory safety and use
and biological science techniques such as extracting DNA and working with tissue and bacteria
cultures.
Steve Rice will run a 3D Film Workshop which will the explore techniques and notion of 3D film
effects. This technique will be use to explore the visual dimensional of theatre through space,
movements, sounds and texts.
Guest artists from Australia already producing artworks using such techniques will demonstrate their
processes and outcomes. The graduates from these workshops will be encouraged to develop their
own artworks over the following months.
Hands-On Workshop
The graduates of the biological art workshops selected by the team will be working with Bhaskar’s
Art Academy through an workshop titled “hands-on workshop”; which will be conduct in Singapore.
During the workshop, it is expected to cultivated bacteria to form a slime curtain suitable for use as
backdrops and projection screens for the performance. The costumes grown from bacteria and
woven from DNA strands that can be worn by the dancers; music composed from DNA codes and
bacterial sequencing; and text created in collaboration with bacteria from electrical sensors. The
performance will be based on a scene from the Mahabharata : Dussassana attempts to remove the
sari of Drupadi but Krishna intervenes to create a never-ending cloth. This scene will be used as the
metaphor for the infinite web of life starting from the double-helix of the DNA molecule, and include
new text, music, visuals and performance around the theme of birth and the creation of life.
The “hands-on workshop” will be used to test the use of the biological actors in relation to the
human actors, the staging, text and musical development and rehearsal methods. Some of the
‘biological actors’, including visuals taken during the “hands-on workshop” will be filmed in 3D
effects.
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Infinite Saree by Biological Arts Theatre (BAT)
Stage 3
The proof of concept will be produced in Indonesia for a period of one month.
Stage 4
The final outcome will be of screening of first ‘3D’ biological theatre event.
Goals to achieve this:
1. Establish an interactive web site that includes video interviews with practitioners, video of
the biological art workshops and rehearsals.
2. Teach Singaporean artists biological art techniques and 3D Film effects through a number of
workshops.
3. Establish a cross-disciplinary knowledge among Singapore artists.
4. Develop interest in Asian mythologies through modern Science .
5. Complete the event and perform it in Singapore and tour it to international festivals
4. Time frame of project
Stage 1
Nov- Dec.
2010
Establishment of preliminary discussion about the project
Establishment of preliminary discussion for full web site
Stage 2
Jan-March
2011
April-June
July- Sept.
2011
2011
Oct - Nov.
2011
Bio-Art workshops Part 1(Preliminary )
3D Film Workshop Part 1 (Preliminary )
Hands On Workshop Phase 1 (Preliminary)
Biological Art Workshops Part 2 (Advance)
3D Film Workshops Part 2 (Advance)
Full Web site to be launched
Hands On Workshop Phase 2 (Advance)
Stage 3
Nov- Dec.
2011
Proof-of-concept (performance development in Indonesia)
Stage 4
Jan.
2012
Screening of Infinite Saree in Singapore
5. Dissemination and Marketing Plan
1. Web site
2. Radio, SMS, email, posters, world media coverage (especially tv)
3. Web site: worldwide audience of artists and scientists working with the biological life
sciences; university students, artists, scientists in Singapore.
4. Biological theatre performance: Southeast Asian artists, scientists, worldwide festival
attendees, particularly middle-class, educated audiences and younger, ‘quick uptake’
audiences engaged with new and challenging events.
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Infinite Saree by Biological Arts Theatre (BAT)
Script for The Infinite Saree
From the Distant Past to the Present.
The Threads of Life and the Continuous Nature of Evolution.
The Living. Organic Being.
Womanhood. Preservation. Existence of Good and Evil. A Re-cycling Process.
Gender Bias. Manipulation of the Body. Threat to Uncover the Hidden.
In Infinite Saree, we explore the development of life on Earth from its simple beginnings, by
reference to the expansion of DNA from a single source into all life forms and the scene in The
Mahabharata in which Dussassana tries to strip Draupadi of her saree.
The DNA coding for all life that exists on Earth today started from one DNA molecule. All cellular
organisms alive now, including humanity, started from this DNA molecule impregnating one bubble.
Symbiogenic evolution merges microbes and creates the multi-cellular, higher order of life,1 making
us all chimeras and mirrors of microbes. The once one-celled bacteria has become multicellular, allpervasive, the source of all life on Earth.
The scene in The Mahabharata that most graphically represents the unfolding of life, and its selfprotective quality, is that of the attempt to render naked Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas.
1
Über Natur und Ursprung der Chromatophoren im Pflanzenreiche’, (1905) Mereschkowsky, C. , Eur. J. Phycol.
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Infinite Saree by Biological Arts Theatre (BAT)
Durodhyana said, “… seize the clothes of the Pandavas and Draupadi”. Hearing that, the Pandavas,
all of them, threw away their upper garments and sat in the hall. Then, Dussassana began forcibly to
snatch and pull off Draupadi’s saree in the midst of that assembly.
Having thus contemplated upon Krisna, Hari, the Lord of the three worlds, that beautiful lady,
covering her face, cried in her distress, “O Lord, armed with conch, discus and mace, Denizen of
Dvaraka, Imperishable Lord, Lotus-eyed Govinda, protect me who has sought you as refuge. Where
are you? Why do you neglect this helpless being who has come to this critical stage?”
By his grace, there appeared at the time when Draupadi’s saree was being pulled off, a similar saree
many times over(infinite). When a pile of cloths had accumulated in the centre of the hall,
Dussasanna sat down, tired and ashamed.” 2
Scientists such as Margulis have argued that “all are chimeras3”4; that all life is made up of multiple
other beings. O’Mahony wrote that, “This cooperation is one of the forces that drives evolution and
has sculpted living organisms to suit their environment. Life is being reshaped, to endure, to explore
and to overcome.
Death is a multi-cellular trait! Even if conditions are ideal, we still seem to die. Evolution of the living
must evolve beyond the organic and a strong motivation for the desire of eternal life.”5
2
Pandit, AS, 'Sabha Parva', in The Mahabharata, Condensed in the poet's own words, second ed., G.A. Natesan & Co.,
Madras. pp.137.
The term “chimera” in science means : 1. An organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of
different genetic composition, produced as a result of an organ transplant, grafting, or genetic engineering. 2. A
substance, such as an antibody, created from the proteins or genes of two different species. 3. An individual who
has received a transplant of genetically and immunologically different tissue. In Greek mythology, a chimera
was a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail; the daughter of Typhon
. From that has come the popular definition: “a grotesque product of the imagination. A fanciful mental illusion
or fabrication.”
3
4
5
Margulis, L. (1992). Extracted from the Animal Behaviour Desk Reference, 2nd Ed. E. M. Barrows. CRC Press.
O’Mahony, M. (2002) Cyborg; the man-machine. Thames &Hudson Ltd, London.
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