Dr S. Chandrasekaran is an accomplished academic with close to 30 years of teaching experience in the field of arts education and 40 years of practice as an artist.
Over the years, Dr S. Chandrasekaran has held several academic positions in both Singapore and international institutions. From 2017 to 2022, he served as the Head of the McNally School of Fine Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts. Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer at the McNally School of Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts.
Dr S. Chandrasekaran has represented major exhibitions such as the Havana Biennial (Cuba), the 1st Asia Pacific Triennial (Brisbane), the Asia-Pacific Performance Art Festival (Canada), the International Performance Art Festival (Poland), the 49th Venice Biennale, the 8th Festival of Contemporary Art (Slovenia), and the Singapore Biennale 2016. He contributed to two major public artworks at World Sculpture Park in Changchun, China (2001) and Little India MRT Station in Singapore (2000).
In 2003, Dr S. Chandrasekaran’s performance artwork Bioalloy and Body Performance was nominated for the APBF Signature Art Prize (Singapore). He has been invited to attend several international conferences and seminars, including the Biennale of Electronic Arts (Australia), the 3rd Asia-Pacific Arts Conference (Taipei), the XIV International Congress for Aesthetics (Slovenia), and the University of New South Wales (Sydney).
Dr S. Chandrasekaran has been invited to speak and lecture at international conferences, including an interdisciplinary conference by the University of Copenhagen in 2019 and International Art Week 2023 at Shenzhen University of Technology. He was the keynote speaker for Cross Media Arts 2016 – the 1st International Conference on Social Arts and Transdisciplinarity at the University of Évora, Portugal in 2015. He has more recently been invited as a researcher by Chinese Hong Kong University.
Dr S. Chandrasekaran is the founder and artistic director of Biological Arts Theatre (BAT), a new media experimental theatre for life sciences and the arts.
Read More
- ‘சொந்தமானது’ (So-ntha-mana-thu): Positioning of the Abnormal Body’, Breath: New Media Art, CICA Museum; Seoul, South Korea (2024)
- Engaging Asia, Prof. Julian Goddard (RMIT) and Dr. S. Chandrasekaran (LASALLE), co-published by RMIT and VCA, ACUADS Conference (2019)
- ‘Innovative thinking Through Life Science – Process of Unlearning’, Cross Media Arts, Social Arts and Transdisciplinarity, University of Lisbon (2016)
- ‘Innovative Learning in Arts Education and Community-Based Arts through Life Science’, International E-Journal, Advances in Education, 1, no. 2 (2015)
- ‘Sakti Principle as Posthumanism: Real Body and UnReal Body, Aesthetics, Experimentation and Innovation’ in Indian Art, Bhaskar’s Academy Arts Publication (2011)
- Infinite Saree, Biological Arts Publication (2011)
- Living Stories, The Substation; Singapore (2012)
- Locating Self through Performance Art (LAP Lambert Academic Publishing) (2009)
- Man and Modern Myth: A Dialogue (Yali Print Publications) (1994)
- Striking Distance, Post Graduate Catalogue, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (2010)
- Bedlam Lull, Diploma Graduate Catalogue, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (2010)
Journals
- ‘Innovative Thinking Through Life Sciences: Process of UnLearning’ in Cross Media Arts, Social Arts and Interdisciplinarity (2018)
- ‘Innovative Learning in Arts Education and Community-Based Arts through Life Science’ in Advances in Education, vol 1, no. 2 (2015)
- Singapore Eye: Contemporary Singapore Art (2014)
- ‘Sakti Principle as Posthumanism: Real Body and UnReal Body’ in Aesthetics
- Experimentation and Innovation in Indian Art (October 2011)
Conference papers/artist panels (select)
- ‘Living Data: Transforming Pedagogy through Neuroscience, Technology and Movement’, International Conference on Education & Learning Technology; Kuala Lumpur (2025)
- ‘Teaching Transdisciplinary Practice Through Cultural Knowledge’, Korean Conference on Education (2024)
- ‘Why I am still bleeding’, Artist and Animal panel at AAANZ Conference, Griffith University (2023)
- ‘Infinite Saree: Cultural Threading between Life Science, Visual Arts, Music and Mythology’, Asian Conference on Education (2023)
- ‘COMING OF THE COVIDIAN BODY – Goddess Corona Devi’, 10th International Conference on Asian Studies (virtual) (2023)
- ‘COVIDIAN BODIES – Shifting the Notion of the Body’, International Symposium for Visual Culture, CICA Museum; Seoul (2023)
- ‘Positioning of the Tamilian Body’, Transcultural Seminar, LASALLE College of the Arts; Singapore (2022)
- ‘Aravanis – A Living Female Avatar’, International Conference on Gender, Sexuality and Justice: Resilience in Uncertain Times, Chinese Hong Kong University (2019)
- ‘Taraiyil (Grounding-the-body)’, International Conference for Performing and Visual Arts, University of Malaya; Kuala Lumpur (2018)
- Panel presentation, ‘The Future of Bharatanatyam: The Role of Technology in the Development of Dance Education’, National University of Singapore (2018)
- Panel presentation, Art and Action: Contemporary Art and Discourse in Southeast Asia, LASALLE College of the Arts; Singapore (2018)
- The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies, Art Center Kobe; Kobe, Japan (2018)
- DNA Technology – Innovative Thinking in Arts Education, Community–Based Arts and Performance Arts, 3rd Academic International Conference on Multi-Disciplinary Studies and Education, Oxford University (2017)
- Innovative Thinking Through Life Science, University of Évora; Portugal (2016)
- Innovative Learning in Arts Education and Community-Based Arts through Life Science, SOCIO-INT15 2nd International Conference on Education, Social Sciences and Humanities; Istanbul (2015)
- Revisiting Traditional Narratives Through Hybrid Aesthetics, ‘Ramayana’, ASEAN Cultural Heritage & Identities; Bangkok (2015)
- Cultural Ethnography – Understanding Local Knowledge through Akar Theory, International Conference on Local Knowledge; Bandung (2015)
Solo exhibitions (select)
- Circle of Multiple Realities, Taipei National University of Arts; Taiwan (2019)
- Creaturphor, SiteEight, RMIT; Melbourne (2018)
- Unwalked Boundaries, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Biennale (2016)
- Small Ideas, Sabanci University; Istanbul (2014)
- Bleeding Angel, Signature Art Prize, Singapore Art Museum (2008)
Group exhibitions (select)
- The Anthropocene Foundry; Cologne (2025)
- Pinctum, virtual exhibition; Mexico (2024)
- 26th International Multimedia Art Festival – IMAF (2024)
- FEITURAS, Vídeoperformance, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brazil (2024)
- Internationales Digitalkunst Festival; Berlin (2024)
- Video Raymi Festival Internacional de Videoarte; Peru (2024)
- IX Tashkent International Biennale of Contemporary Art; Uzbekistan (2024)
- Anthropocene Project, The New Museum of Network Art; Berlin/USA (2024)
- International Streaming Festival; Vienna (2024)
- “Which of Which”, Gajah Gallery; Singapore (2023)
- Mykolaiv ArtWeek, MEMORY, MyART Platform; Ukraine (2023)
- Public Art and Metaverse, Venice (2023)
- P Digital TV MulTiverse, Arts Channel; Vienna (2023)
- XIV Florence Biennale; Florence (2023)
- S7, com; USA (2023)
- Visual Culture Exhibition, CICA Museum; Seoul (2023)
- Sao Paulo International Performance Art; Brazil (2022)
- 4th International Forum of Performance Art; Greece (2022)
- Nothing is Forever, Rethinking Sculpture in Singapore, National Gallery Singapore (2022)
- Postproduction: From the Art Collection of the Art Stays Festival, Slovenia (2022)
- Canvas Venice International Art Fair, Venice (2022)
- Lacuna Festivals International, Spain (2002)
- LATITUDES HYBRIDAS: International Performance Art Festival; USA (2022)
- Inheritance and Innovation, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (2021)
- The New (ab)Normal, RMIT, Melbourne (2020)
- Rendezvous 1: #supporttheaffair, Telor Ayer Arts Club (2019)
- Creaturphor, SiteEight, RMIT; Melbourne (2018)
- “Still Like a Hummingbird”, ICAN; Jakarta (2018)
- Singapore Biennale, Singapore Art Museum (2016)
Artistic research and practice
- Interpreting Transgendered Bodies Between Narratives in South India (2014–2020)
- Voices of Orang Suku Laut (2015–2017)
- Infinite Saree (2011–2012)
- 6th Finger (2005)
- WAX CITY (2003)
Current research and practice
- Exploring past narratives of Indian migrants from South India in the early 1800s, and how their identities were mapped in relation to Singapore’s sociopolitical and economic settings today
- Neuroscience: re-thinking the body
- Post humanist body: technology and the body
- Interdisciplinary studies: positioning of cultural knowledge
- Tribal aesthetics: traditional knowledge
- Asian aesthetics: traditional materials
- Local knowledge: Asian thinking
- Life sciences and art: third skin and bacteria painting
- Experimental theatre: DNA music, DNA textiles and virtual reality
- Cross-cultural studies in performance arts
- Community-based arts through life science
- Ethnography through performance art
- Ethnographic studies: Orang Suku Laut
Committees and advisory panels (select)
- Senior reviewer (peer review) for IFOR Conference (2023)
- Member of Artist Pedagogy Research, ecological pedagogy group, Society of Artistic Research, University of Helsinki (2023)
- Board of Examiners, The Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Music And Fine Arts University, External PhD Examiner (2022–present)
- Committee member, World Conference on Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for Eurasia Conference (2022–present)
- Member, WASET Committee and Editorial Review Board (2022–present)
- Board member, Cross Media Art, University of Évora, European University and University of Lisbon (2021–present)
- Board member, Scientific Committee, Cross Media Arts, University of Évora (2016–present)
- Advisory member, Little India Art Project, Singapore (2014–present)
- Advisory panel member, Istana Art, Office of the President; Singapore (2015–2017)
- NAC Arts Advisory Panel (2009–2012)
