Singaporean artist ArunDitha Emmanuel is tapping into radical ways of artistic expression

ArunDitha Emmanuel is an otherworldly being. When the poet-singer-performer arrives for the interview and photoshoot, she sweeps into the lobby in a black T-shirt, her wrists adorned with jewellery, and her hair curled and untamed. It’s as though she’s arrived from another universe.

A multidisciplinary artist

As the frontwoman of Mantravine, one of the many hats she wears, ArunDitha lends her strong emotive voice to the band’s world, psychedelic (sometimes neo-shamanic) dance music. The Singapore-based quartet is well known within the circles of alternative music, or “super fringe modalities”, as she calls it, locally and abroad. 

They’ve performed at festivals such as Germany’s Evolution Festival and Thailand’s Wonderfruit Festival. This year marks the 10th year of her singing practice, something she’s been doing since she was a child and that has taken her through various genres like black metal and dub in previous bands she’s been in. 

Mantravine’s cosmic approach to music as healing vibrations mirrors her own spiritual journey when she started Vipassana, or silent meditation. In a bid to move on while grieving her mother's passing, the 10 days of silent meditation led her to an awakening of sorts.

Recounting an incident where she felt an energy exchange happen with a friend, she dove deeper to learn more. Today, she offers coaching and space-opening sessions with a small group of clients.

Her spiritual connectedness spills into her work as a spoken word performer and poet. Far from her first spoken word performance, an artistic expression first introduced by her lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic, she’s taken to the stage at the Barcelona International Poetry Festival with long-time collaborator Kiat and at the Singapore Writers Festival. 

The multi-hyphenate also graduated in theatre, specifically in Applied Theatre and education, and has taught as a drama teacher and performed in experimental shows such as Running With Strippers in March 2023 at Cake Theatre. 

Brave explorations

ArunDitha has an acute clarity of her purpose as someone exploring multiple artistic forms simultaneously. Returning to Singapore after staying abroad for a decade, she sounds glad to be back and focused on her art. I almost hear relief as she explains, “After everything and even when I travel now, nothing has as much meaning as trying to contribute here… There is no one else on earth that I feel so deeply as a part of me.” 

But returning to create within the conservative boundaries of state censorship is a tricky thing after tasting freedom in communities overseas. She thinks aloud as we discuss the constraints of performing arts, mentioning one school of thought that believes limitations force artists to think outside the box more, saying, “I really wonder what we would be creating if there were no limitations.”

While all artists in the country must contend with the dance between pushing the envelope and acquiring government funding, she worries about internalised censorship. Self-censorship, “even in this interview”, is a constant pushback for an artist as unconventional as she is.

There is strength in numbers, and teaming up with like-minded individuals is one way ArunDitha keeps moving. Her latest project, Opens, is a para-academic forum that explores radical ways to counter the stifling restraints set by the state. They’ve organised a Postcritical Spirituality Pecha Kucha that explored shamanism, the supernatural, and religion, as well as held performance art shows.

And as much as her preternatural spirituality makes her feel mystical, her tenacity to disrupt the status quo gives her a sense of rootedness. In the next few years, at least, she’ll be putting her efforts into growing the forms of fringe artistic expression here as she leans into her own practices. 

“I realise more and more that we are agents of change. If we don’t question what we’re doing and how we respond to perceived systems, power dynamics, or censorship, do we just become enablers of our own captivity?”