“Tidur Lambak” Arrives in Ipoh this Weekend

Anne Das 1 hour ago

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By Anne Das
Photo credit: Taha Long – Tapir Studio

An unusual immersive experience is arriving in Ipoh, inviting the public to slow down in a way most events never attempt. The two-night event will take place on 27 and 28 March at Lingkaran Ipoh, giving audiences the option to attend either evening.

“Tidur Lambak” is an immersive rest-based experience created by Tapir Studio, a Malaysian creative collective that develops experimental works blending installation, sound and performance.

The project draws inspiration from a fond Malaysian memory. During Balik Kampung visits, mattresses are often pulled together across the living room floor, turning the space into one large, shared sleeping area. By the end of the night, people simply lie down wherever there is room and drift-off side by side.

That communal way of sleeping is known as “Tidur Lambak.”

The concept was developed by Tapir Studio as a way to revisit that shared cultural experience in a contemporary setting. The creators describe it as an opportunity for people to reconnect through rest. It transforms a nostalgic tradition from the Malaysian psyche into a physical environment.

By turning that memory into an immersive space, the experience also invites those who may never have encountered communal sleeping traditions to take part.

For the Ipoh edition, the event will take place at Lingkaran Ipoh, a creative venue located inside the well-known Bukit Merah timber factory site. The industrial hall will be transformed into a temporary communal sleeping room lined with tikar mats and toto mattresses.

Participants enter the space, find a spot and settle in. It’s that easy.

The experience is guided by Dr Kamal Sabran, a Malaysian sound artist and lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia who has spent years exploring how sound can shape human experience. He is also the founder of Space Gambus Experiment, a platform that brings together traditional Asian instruments and electronic sound.

For this sensory journey, he creates a carefully composed sonic environment where recorded dream narratives blend with meditative and healing frequencies to shape the atmosphere of the room.

The session unfolds in two stages.

The first stage focuses on communal unwinding, allowing participants to gradually relax within the shared space. The second moves into individual slumber, where the room slowly settles into stillness.

Through sound and projections, “Tidur Lambak” gently dissolves the boundaries between strangers and kin. What emerges is a rare and tender space of shared presence, where rest becomes both an individual and communal act.

The project first debuted in Kuala Lumpur in 2023 and later travelled to Jakarta in 2025 as part of the Djakarta International Theater Platform, where it represented Malaysia at the international festival.

With two evenings scheduled, those curious about the experience or interested in immersive art and sound-based installations, this is a chance to try something different.