It was triumphed return for Alastair MacLennan at FOI9. The veteran artist presented a performance that dealt with the human need in modernity for selfidentity, and personal in the digital age of constant distractions within cities. Durational time was the theme of this year's FOI9 and Mr. MacLennan took to it like a fish to water as he is most noted for long performances sometimes lasting up to seven day. For veteran performance artist such as Mr. MacLennan, time is a physicality that opens up new and different experiences,

Digital distraction is a health risk in itself according to urban theorist Malcom McCullough in his book “Ambient Commons: Attention in the Age of Embodied Information”. When our smart phone s become too connected, our experiences and human engagement changes and as daily lives in cities become muted. Our senses are invaded by the chase and pursuit of encounters is outside agenda based and out of our own control. Instead of holding memories; a burst akin to more of a sugar rush happens. The senses in some cases might actually lessen thoughtful engagement despite the larger ratio of experiences.

What Mr. MacLennan has done in his performance FELL TELL is to remind all of us to slow down and notice our environment; and our sense of place. To reteach by his sheer physical presence what it is to regain control of our identities and lives, to unplug from our smart phone addiction to Twitter, Facebook and Google mail. Like many performance art practitioners Alastair is unflappable not looking for sympathy or demanding single-minded adoration or attention he is testing and trying to discover what manifests further than physical, emotional and mental exhaustion to his own self.

In his latest performance in Future Of Imagination, the outdoor space in a small lane along side Rowell Road his own personal area of Zen. It was interesting to see the reactions of the casual passerby, who neither stopped or interrupted the Mr. MacLennan's path of walking in ritualistic slow movements from one end of the lane to another with a book and black balanced on his head as he clenched a cloth. Perhaps it's the local Chinese practice of Tai Chi and Qi Gong is a common sight that it wasn't strange to see the Scotsman in the side alley walking barefoot dressed in black. Clutching his memento of a cloth printed with the image of a world map, Mr. MacLennan gracefully moved from one end to another in enclosed side street lane. There were a few found objects set down in a square; four coconuts with tops cut open, three large rocks to hold down a mat of a world map laid out back side up right with jar of water with a few purple flower petals surrounded by red and white construction warning barrier tape on corners.

The performance was more of an “Actuation” as Alastair MacLennan has coined to describe his particular durational works. It's a more adept description of the actual real time creative process and execution of his FOI9 work. The Scotsman lives and resides in each second of the artwork and for this particular day, it was interesting to observe that Jason Lim the organizing director of FOI9 came around to accommodate the guest artist giving them time watch updates. Oddly, enough Mr. MacLennan stopped give or take 15 minutes short of the 2 hours. For Alastair the performance art isn't finite nor does it truly end, even though it stopped short of the 2 hour mark the on this occasion, but There are no rights or wrongs, the resolution to his performance FELL TELL was always there from the moment it commenced. There is beauty in the way Alastair MacLennan channels and reshuffles his movements. The hand holding the blanked image of a map of the world was perhaps a reminder to himself that the goal with performance art and is the journey and the cities are just destination markers.

The irony wasn’t lost to many people about with the venue of this year's Future Of Imagination in the heart of Little India, Singapore home to a wide migrant worker population. Things couldn't be anymore relevant; underneath the polished gloss of Singapore is a discomfort of economical and social schism for some. Unlike the extremes of Belfast, Ireland where Mr. MacLennan calls his base of residency, there is a constant good natured regeneration to Singapore which no doubt the artist could also find comfort in his performance space.The irony wasn’t lost to many people about with the venue of this year's Future Of Imagination in the heart of Little India, Singapore home to a wide migrant worker population. Things couldn't be anymore relevant; underneath the polished gloss of Singapore is a discomfort of economical and social schism for some. Unlike the extremes of Belfast, Ireland where Mr. MacLennan calls his base of residency, there is a constant good natured regeneration to Singapore which no doubt the artist could also find comfort in his performance space. Performance art has reinvented itself in Singapore like a newly born phoenix rising. We hope to see a FOI10, FOI11 and FOI13 in larger venue and audiences. Artists such as Alastair MacLennan are our earthly guides; humanistic life coaches literally showing us how to slow down and emancipate from the elements which disturb our equilibrium to find ourselves to regain our sense of time.

Performance art has reinvented itself in Singapore like a newly born phoenix rising. We hope to see a FOI10, FOI11 and FOI13 in larger venue and audiences. Artists such as Alastair MacLennan are our earthly guides; humanistic life coaches literally showing us how to slow down and emancipate from the elements which disturb our equilibrium to find ourselves to regain our sense of time.