Yukinko Akira - DJ, dancer, rhythmic painter
By Richard Seah
25 May 2009
Yukinko Akira calls himself a "rhythmic painter". I consider him a multi-tasker extraordinaire.
With a paint splattered CD player slung over his back, he begins his act by playing some music and DJing - making funny noises as he manipulates the CD with his hands while it is playing.
Then he takes up his palatte, squeezes out some paint from a tube... and starts to dance. And paint!
In the middle of it all, he might pause to act a bit, stretching his hands and making gestures in the air. Then he dances again... completes his art, signs off and presents it to some pretty young girl in the audience.
By now, he would be drenched in sweat.
Akira gave six half-hour performances in Singapore over the May 22-24 weekend, as part of the Singapore Arts Festival.
I almost missed his show. On Friday night, I was too tired to attend even though I was just 15 minutes' walk away. On Saturday night, I had dinner and tea with some friends.
On Sunday, I had a late afternoon nap and woke up late feeling groggy. Should I go? I dragged myself to. And was glad I did!
You can watch a YouTube video of Akira's incredible performance here.
6 responses
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Rey mos gave props (25 May 2009):
It is an inspirational story of a raw talent. Thanks for sharing this. All the best. Rey
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Jim Pope said (25 May 2009):
It's really cool to read a story that almost wasn't and find out about Akira's apparently incredible analog talent in a digital world. Your images capture the nature and action of his art very well, and the story is intriguing.
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Joseph H. Dalton gave props (9 Jul 2009):
good one mate, and yeah thanks for sharing this. I have trouble talking and shooting let alone dancing!
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dp * gave props (25 Jul 2009):
Love the photos and the read. Very nice! Yeah it's RAD man! dp
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Tremaine Sterling gave props (16 Aug 2009):
Googled him and found vids on YouTube. The guy is pretty awesome. Love your shots. It's good you went.
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Zerina Phillip gave props (20 Oct 2009):
Aewsome. Wonderful photos and story.
