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Migrant Workers Awareness Week

 

A very interesting pop-up exhibition caught my attention at Central Forum. In conjunction with Migrant worker’s awareness week, this exhibition titled ‘The Dormitory’ by Artslab and curated by Nessa Swinn, made use of wooden boards to form a makeshift dorm room of a migrant worker. A step inside the wooden walls will reveal a bed frame with a plastic sheet and a small side table next to it. This simulation showed how the living conditions are like for migrant workers in Singapore. The smart use of construction labels to stick up the poems was a good fit to the theme of this exhibition. The use of wood to make up the sides of the room showed the vulnerability and fragility of their living conditions, which again suited the concept of the exhibition.

 

This setup was very interesting as the props are the exhibits along with the poems that were printed and pasted on the wooden walls. It was a meaningful encounter as the poems were written by migrant workers themselves and all underlined a tinge of sadness and longing to belong. There was also a guest book on the side table that gave visitors the chance to write their sentiments when the experience is still fresh and ongoing. I did feel a wave of emotions as the living conditions was less privileged as compared to mine. The poems gave a really nice peak into the feelings of migrant workers while the live simulation allowed us to personally feel, see and experience being in the personal space of these workers. I think this is a very interesting exhibit that can stir emotions in such social issues that remain hidden behind closed doors. Through my short experience there, I did wish to see a migrant worker walk into the room so that we can exchange our feelings and words of appreciation.