Bryan Chang is a designer and artist working at the intersection of graphic design, scenography, and media art. His practice spans visual identity, print and digital design, lighting and multimedia design, and photography. His work in theatre and dance has received multiple arts award nominations. Bryan is also a co-founder of Sans Collective, an interdisciplinary group creating work for performance and exhibition. He is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
三心
Trilogy of Hearts
Projections were used, sparingly, to evoke a sense of ephemerality—mirroring the ebb and flow of movement and moment. The visuals also referenced a line from the Diamond Sutra, which informed the title: “It is impossible to retain past mind, impossible to hold onto present mind, and impossible to grasp future mind.”
This performance also marked Bryan’s first foray into live sound arrangements, layering ambient textures and playing semi-improvised compositions to deepen the meditative atmosphere.
Special thanks to Iwaz for the sound design workshop in 2024, which formed the foundation for the exploration into live sound arrangement.
Photos by Joyce Leong (1 – 7), Wilson Chang (8 – 10), Goh Bong Hiang & Connie Chan (11 – 13), Tan Eng Heng (14).
Performance Page (CloudJoi)
Into the Symbiocene
Terrafunk Theatre Collective
2024
Lighting and projections, working in tandem with sound and set design, were central in creating an otherworldly atmosphere that supported the performance. The design and technical execution were also a creative exercise in navigating multiple constraints—most notably, limited load-in/out time. As such, the lighting design repurposed mostly existing rigged fixtures, with a few necessary additions. Projections featured visuals from Symbiocene, alongside a new generative water ripple effect.
This was also the first performance where both lighting cues and audio were programmed in QLab (a platform Bryan seldom used previously), chosen for its practicality and portability.
Special thanks to Teater Tre’s technician, Anthony, for his invaluable support. Hat tip to the Touchdesigner tutorials by Bileam Tschepe (elekktronaut), supermarket sallad, and Daniel Steenhoff.
Photos by Timjan Wall (1 – 9), Liew Chee Heai (10).
Best Dance & Physical Theatre Award
Best Innovation in Performance Award
Performance Page (STOFF2024)
Titus Andronicus
The lighting design, utilising a combination of stage fixtures and LED pixel bars, was intentionally restrained and monochromatic. Colour was used sparingly to allow the performances and the floral-plant embodiments of the characters to remain central, and to reflect the stark binaries of the play. Presented in a challenging, inverted in-the-round format with shallow stages encircling the audience, the stage drew inspiration from dioramas: a minimalist and impressionistic arrangement featuring draped fabrics—reminiscent of Roman togas—interacting with light and shadow, flanked by two contrasting tree structures.
Special thanks to Foong and Hazim for their technical assistance with the LED pixel bars.
Photos by Nicholas Augustin.
I Thought We Had A Deal
The lighting—comprising a mix of minimal stage and practical fixtures—was designed to be atmospheric, highlighting textures and bodies in motion within the vast open space, while playing against the offbeat and, at times, playful tone of the performance. A live-feed projection—in one of the segments—introduced a layer of visual texture and contrast, further expanding the performance’s surreal and unpredictable landscape.
Photos by Low Pey Sien .
Dari Pinggiran EP
Album Cover, Art Direction, Photography Studio Bayangan, Sans Collective 2024
The existential and emotional textures of the songs, along with Bryan’s observations at the abandoned school, informed the art direction—a visual and typographic language designed to evoke a sense of solitude, yearning, and quiet turmoil, reflecting the introspective tone of the music.
Performance photos by Celcea Tifani.
Symbiocene
The piece moves fluidly through time, space, and layered realities—occupying the liminal. Working in tandem with lush sound design and verdant set design, the lighting and projections were crafted to visualise these amorphous, disparate worlds and to evoke a familiar yet otherworldly atmosphere—creating a space in-between, for both the emotional and physical journeys of the performance to unfold.
Special thanks to DPAC’s technician Wen Jie for his invaluable support. Hat tip to the TouchDesigner tutorials by Bileam Tschepe (elekktronaut) and supermarket sallad.
Photos by Nicholas Augustin, video by Zhonk Vision.
Recipients (Theatre) Best Set And/Or Visual Design—Liew Chee Heai
Nominees (Theatre) Best Lighting Design—Bryan Chang
Performance Page (CloudJoi)
Sisyphus No.9
The scenography, inspired by the stark drama of Baroque art, created a bleak and indifferent world against which the protagonist’s struggles unfold, an austere stage for perseverance, resistance, and repetition. Designed for a small university black box, the staging employed minimal fixtures and a set made out of cardboard, working in close dialogue with Francoe’s affecting live score, to shape the emotional and physical terrain of the performance.
Photos by Abdul Sami Shahid.
Mixtape for Maz
As a memory play, the performance embraced a non-realistic approach—a bare set, minimal lighting, and the use of space objects as external props created room for the audience’s imagination. Drawing inspiration from the recurring presence of a radio in the narrative, live foley was employed to produce selective sound effects, bringing imagined objects to life. Archival radio recordings were woven in to deepen the atmosphere of nostalgia.
Photos (Rehearsals) by Abdul Sami Shahid.
Performance Page (CloudJoi)
a listening body
Collateral Design January Low 2023
The overall art direction embraced a minimalist approach, aligning with the performance’s quiet intimacy. This sensibility extended into the graphic design, which drew from Odissi’s fundamental components and variations, as well as fragments from the email exchanges that shaped the mentorship. The contemporary typeface Quiche was chosen for its grace and contrast—echoing January’s movement: fluid yet grounded.
Performance photos by Vinoth Raj Pillai (1 – 2), Low Pey Sien (3 – 8)
Best Choreographer in a Feature Length Work—January Low
Best Multimedia Design—Bryan Chang
Switchblade Operation:
The Longing
Collaborating with Soh Kim, herself an esteemed lighting designer, was an enlightening experience.
The lighting for the first piece, an intimate duet, remained simple and restrained—retaining much of the original’s tone to capture the work’s sensitivity and quiet intensity. In contrast, the second piece adopted a more frenetic energy. Working in tandem with the set, the deep staging of the warehouse, the lighting design—combining stage and DIY fixtures—reflected the maddening chaos and relentlessness of urban life, while allowing for fleeting moments of tenderness amidst the harsh industrial backdrop.
Photos by Xiao Ma Yi (1), Taka Chang (2 – 7), Low Pey Sien (8), courtesy of Kongsi Petak.
Best Featured Lead Performer—Gabriel Wong for ‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’
Best Group Performance—‘A World In The City’
Best Choreographer in a Mixed Bill—Loke Soh Kim for ‘A World In The City’
Nominees (Dance) Best Featured Lead Performer—Audrey Chua for ‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’ & Winnie Xuan for ‘A World In The City’
Best Group Performance—‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’
Best Choreographer in a Mixed Bill—Loke Soh Kim for ‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’
Best Lighting Design—Bryan Chang & Loke Soh Kim for “Switchblade Operation: The Longing”
Best Set And/Or Visual Design—Liew Chee Heai for ‘A World In The City’ & ‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’
Performance Page (CloudJoi)