I am honoured to be part of this rather unusual Arts Exhibition. I contributed 8 digital illustrations to accompany 8, out of about 120s poems and stories written by Migrant workers. There are a hundred more illustrations and photos contributed by other artists. The poems and stories were originally written in Bengali, Tamil, Chinese etc and have been translated into English. They express the Migrant workers’ experiences daily commuting on the back of lorries.
Whenever I did murals which required heavy machineries, or at worksites under construction. I had the opportunities to interact with Migrant workers. One of the most memorable was when I was painting a tall mural using a scissor lift. My benchman was from Bangladesh. He was in his early 20s. He was chatty. We chitchatted a lot. It was funny that he kept comparing me with his dad (same age as me). He said his dad would never speak with him like that. I said I don’t speak with my own children like that too! I soon realised he was actually well educated, knowledgeable and aspiring. When our work ended, he asked if I can hire him for more days!
With my limited interactions, I can’t say at all that I understand the Migrant worker community. But I learn empathy. Many of them have worked in Singapore for many years, away from their families left behind in their own countries. I counted my blessings and considered myself so lucky to be born in my time and place. I wondered how I will feel if I am in their shoes.
If you have missed the exhibition and are keen to learn more about their thoughts, you can order the book published with the poems, stories and illustrations here: “A Journey by Lorry” Book Order Form
The exhibition and the book is a unique platform that allows them to express their feelings through Art. It changes our stereotypical visions of them working at construction sites, cleaning our estates, pruning our trees. They are also authors, poets, storytellers, photographers, curators and musicians. Join them for a some time, sitting at the back of the lorries, at A Journey by Lorry.