ARTISTS
Zai Tang
photo by Sze Ying Goh
Zai Tang
Singapore／Artist and Sound Designer
Zai Tang is an artist and sound designer based in Singapore. Drawing influence from acoustic ecology, phenomenology and electronic & experimental music, his practice is built upon a belief that listening is an invaluable means of attuning to and forming deeper relationships with the worlds we inhabit.
In his solo work he asks the question: What does it mean to listen to nature in a time of ecological crisis? In response, he experiments with transforming and visualising wildlife field recordings from habitats under threat. The resulting material is used to create affective experiences that imagine new ways to relate to nonhuman perspectives.
Recent presentations include "The Other Detour" presented by Comma Space 逗号空间, Singapore (2025) with Kar-men Cheng; "Wild Soma" at Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale (2024); "Sonic Medi(t)ations" at National Gallery Singapore (2023); "Escape Velocity V" (Solo Version) at Seoul Mediacity Pre-Biennale (2022); "Redder" at Thailand Biennale, Korat (2021).
In his solo work he asks the question: What does it mean to listen to nature in a time of ecological crisis? In response, he experiments with transforming and visualising wildlife field recordings from habitats under threat. The resulting material is used to create affective experiences that imagine new ways to relate to nonhuman perspectives.
Recent presentations include "The Other Detour" presented by Comma Space 逗号空间, Singapore (2025) with Kar-men Cheng; "Wild Soma" at Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale (2024); "Sonic Medi(t)ations" at National Gallery Singapore (2023); "Escape Velocity V" (Solo Version) at Seoul Mediacity Pre-Biennale (2022); "Redder" at Thailand Biennale, Korat (2021).
2026 project
SYN
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Illustrated by Moeno Ootsu
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What happens when we listen closely to the voices of the animal kingdom?
In an age of ecological crisis, an audiovisual performance that births new connections between humans and nature facilitated by the act of listening.
Singapore-based artist and sound designer Zai Tang develops creative practices that reframe the human relationship with the world through the act of listening. In "SYN", an audiovisual performance, Tang engages with the ecological crisis caused by environmental pollution and destruction.
Sounds of wild animals recorded during his residency are transformed and visualized in real time, offering audiences new sensory pathways to connect with nature. Drawing on concepts from Eastern philosophy—such as interbeing and emptiness—the work seeks to create a space in which humans and nature resonate and attune to one another in unprecedented ways.
In an age of ecological crisis, an audiovisual performance that births new connections between humans and nature facilitated by the act of listening.
Singapore-based artist and sound designer Zai Tang develops creative practices that reframe the human relationship with the world through the act of listening. In "SYN", an audiovisual performance, Tang engages with the ecological crisis caused by environmental pollution and destruction.
Sounds of wild animals recorded during his residency are transformed and visualized in real time, offering audiences new sensory pathways to connect with nature. Drawing on concepts from Eastern philosophy—such as interbeing and emptiness—the work seeks to create a space in which humans and nature resonate and attune to one another in unprecedented ways.
