Bare-ly Seen
Singapore 2023
Intention
Highlight our natural tendency to become desensitized to the
suffering of others in our society. An unsympathetic outlook on
their concerns can make them vulnerable to exploitation and
trafficking.
Context
Singapore has a very beautifully curated landscape, designed
by talented individuals. Much of the labour is completed by
migrant workers, and it’s easy to overlook the realities of their
working conditions when their work is so aesthetically pleasing.
Occasionally you’ll see groups these construction workers being
transported to and from work in open pick-up lorries without
seating or seat belts, which has led to severe accidents. The
2022 Fifa World Cup had just finished also, where there were
similar concerns.
Solution
A simple, satisfying, looping stop-motion animation highlighting
our tendency to become accustomed was displayed in two
public locations with different aspect ratios. One at a multistory
building,
Tensquare,
with a screen size of 15m by 2m, and the Nexus
Mediawall which has a screen size of 21.2m by 14.4m.
Process
After living and making observations, we created a simple,
looping stop-motion animation that was easy for commuters
to understand as they passed by. The message was clear but
kept subtle to avoid scandal or polarization, ensuring it wasn’t
perceived as an attack, an encouraging yet critical approach.
Message
Metanoia -To transcend our way of knowing and perseiving which our mind and senses have accustomed to.
The piece starts off with the title “Barely
Seen” , which to suggest the subject
is barely visible but also this work
attempts to uncover who is not visible.
After a few rotations, the next section
saturates with the colour yellow and
simultaneously you start hearing the
sound of hammering that is in sync
with the movement in the section.
After a few cycles, the next section
saturates in colour and audio again, as
each section saturates, it builds onto
what happens to be a cacophony of
sounds one may hear at a construction
site. The colour yellow was chosen as it
is vibrant and draws attention, also it is
the colour of a traditional safety helmet
construction workers wear.
The looping stop-motions are very
simple and appears to have no
beginning or end, making them
satisfying to watch. There is also
scrolling text which goes across
the 14m screen that reads “work in
progress”; “do not disturb”; “sorry for
the inconvenience”, which are signs
one may read around a construction
site but also symbolises the different
thoughts people may have towards
such topics in society, “blissful
ignorance”, is also visible.
The text within the paper crafts
becomes visible as the animation
loops, it’s a poem about our
contradictory behaviour in relation to
our anatomical tools, a message to
the reader about how we have these
senses such as our eyes, ears, mouth,
hands, but we can have blind-spots to
vulnerable people in society.
Award
Gold by Creative Conscience.
https://www.creative-conscience.org.uk/winners/bare-ly-seen
Credits
A piece made in collaboration with Maroa-Isabel Al-Sahlani. Displayed in Singapore, part of 'ART-ACT Festival' during Singapore Art Week 2023.
‘ART-ACT Festival' was curated by Aura Murillo and Ina Conradi in collaboration with Ten Square, Landmark of Good and Media Art Nexus. Photographs by Ahad Mahmood and Arnau Donate Duch.