Ballads 1,2,3,4

An anagram of “all bad”, BALLAD is a series of short pieces that reflect on our fractured existence, trapped by contemporary circumstances. Unheard voices are sung, fragile selves exposed, and art as an avenue of expression which simultaneously mirrors and critiques experience. As a further exploration of interiorization (see INTERIOR SONGS and STILLE.D) as both site and memory, BALLADS takes its cue from Oscar Wilde’s Ballad of Reading Gaol, a verse from which closes each ballad.

BALLADS 5,7 is a continuation of the series.

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RUNNING TIME: VARIOUS | COMPLETED: 02/14 – 03/14 | DIRECTOR: Stephen Chen


BALLAD 1 (Měsíčku Na Nebi Hlubokém) – a lonely man haunts the night seeking connection, in his mind he sings to an imagined lover who is waiting somewhere.

BALLAD 2 (Look for the Silver Lining) – a brief liberation amidst the tedium and constraints of work; a man connects briefly to himself and to the outside world.

LANDS END – BALLAD 3 (Camiante, son tus huellas) – a meditation on boundaries and journeys.

BALLAD 4 (Je crains de lui Parler la Nuit) – an aria connects and calls out the anti-LGBT hate and violence in Russia, Uganda, Nigeria, India and other parts of the world.

2048 1152 dissonance productions

dissonance productions

Started by trans-discplinary art-ivist Stephen Chen to consolidate his recent work; as well as facilitate collaboration with others. Stephen’s oeuvre is often allegorical as well as simultaneously deconstruct and hybridize the very forms he works in. Disdaining academic and esoteric expressions, as well as institutional conventions and practices, Stephen explores complex ideas and issues immanent in his works through experiments in form and technique.

dissonance productions