The Best Day of Your Life @ Seksan Gallery

By Ben Liew  •  in Reports
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Whoever thought of the title for this event is a f*cking genius! Or, a deranged child molester. Whatever the case, I just couldn’t pass on checking it out.

And what fun I had. The Best Day of Your Life wasn’t any typical art show. People were selling stuff like cupcakes, t-shirts, CDs, and there was even a guy who would write you a letter for RM1. I got him to write a letter to girl I was seeing but halfway, I changed my mind and asked him to burn it. And that he did. In front of me. Why? Who cares. This is The Best Day of Your Life.

Exhibiting artists Dill Malik, Chi Too and Mun Kao seemed equally deranged. I guess that comes with the territory. Their art was … I don’t know. Really. What can you say about a framed screen shot of Farmville and a video projection close-up of Chi Too sucking in air with his lips. To say it was moving stuff would be condescending. To dismiss it as low-brow art would be a pity. Let’s just say I’m a music critic not an art connoisseur. Props to them for doing this DIY though.

But as far as music goes, I can say that there is nothing more disturbing than watching anti-everything noise acoustic duo The Panda Head Curry (joined by Paul from Paul’s Place) play a set. Songs about corrupt politicians, fears of circumcision and why ‘Singapore Belongs To Malaysia’ had me and the crowd in stitches. General Panda (vocals/extreme-miming) aka me, came out in a cow suit with a megaphone. My cohort Lord Panda (vocals/guitar) proclaimed, “I come from Shah Alam. And since it’s Deepavali, I want to represent my city. Later, we shall behead this bovine and blow its carcass up with C4!”

As Seksan Gallery also happens to be a house located in the peaceful residential area of Lucky Garden, Bangsar it wasn’t long til the neighbours complained about the racket. TPHC were followed by Abdurrahman and His Laundry Bag which consisted of Dill, Chi Too and some other guy playing songs on loli-whistles and a toy piano. I only remember one song about a moose which brought serenity and peace to the house they were staying at. After a while, the trio just sat there licking their loli-whistles. Funnier still, the audience seemed mesmerised.

Of course, there were more performances throughout the day including Mun Kao’s vegetarian cooking demo, a how-to-do yoga session and the screening of Filmmakers Anonymous 12.

Serious discussions about art followed after the music performances, during which time I decided to swing by Frankiemumbo, the tee maker’s tent. And then I left through the back, not saying thank you or goodbye to anyone. I was ready to be alone. This really was the best day of my life.

The Best Day of Your Life went down on Saturday 17 October 2009 @ Seksan Gallery. Check out the best pictures in the world here. For more on Chi Too and Mun Kao, go to chitoo.net and munkao.com respectively. More on The Best Day of Your Life here.

Image Juria Toramae