SINGAPORE — Theatre and visual arts may often be regarded by many as two distinct artistic practices, but the Centre For Contemporary Art’s (CCA) latest exhibition pulls back the curtains to reveal that they often speak the same language: Theatricality.

Theatrical Fields brings together six visual arts practitioners from Europe and North America, whose large-scale video installations collectively underscore the heightened sense of being “staged”.

“(For Theatrical Fields) we wanted to show that there’s a dynamic dialogue and exchange (between theatre and visual art),” said Anca Rujoiu, who helped curate the exhibition, which was first shown in Sweden last year, with CCA founding director Ute Meta Bauer. “The visual arts has appropriated from theatre, but we also acknowledge that theatre also uses elements from visual art. (The relationship) is fluid and dynamic.”

From costumes to characters, from script to mise-en-scene, from the idea of a narrator to the very act of storytelling, certain theatrical elements are highlighted in the works. Stan Douglas’ Suspiria, for instance, is a mash-up of characters and scenarios from the stories of the Brothers Grimm, which are assembled and reassembled via a computer program into an endless loop where no sequence is repeated.

Somewhat similar is Constanze Ruhm’s X Characters / RE(hers)AL, where she plucks female characters from movies by famous male directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Ridley Scott. Played by actresses, they take on a life of their own as passengers stranded in an airport.

Modular costumes used in Eva Meyer and Eran Schaerf’s She Might Belong To You are on display together with the video, comprising scenes from three post-war German films tied together by a narrator whose observations serve as links between the scenes.

While the exhibition comprises only Western artists, homegrown practitioner Ming Wong, whose works heavily touch upon the theatrical, kicks off a series of related public programmes with a lecture on Aug 29. Other events include talks by Theatrical Fields artists Judith Barry and Isaac Julien.

This exhibition follows other arts events with theatre-visual art crossovers. The ongoing Singapore International Festival Of Arts has presented Belgian artist-turned-theatre maker Miet Warlop’s Mystery Magnet and a 50-hour durational performance by Indian performance artist Nikhil Chopra.

Theatrical Fields runs until Nov 2 at the Centre For Contemporary Art, Gillman Barracks, Block 43, Malan Road. Free admission. For more information visit http://gillmanbarracks.com/cca/