Live-in (Mattress provided), 2018-2023
12 digital photographs, text
12 digital photographs, text
Live-in (Mattress provided) is my photographic and textual response to the act of hiring live-in migrant domestic workers (MDW) in Singapore. Early stages of the project were spurred by the live-in rule which mandates that an MDW lives with their employer throughout their stay. The rule is sometimes criticised for conflating living and working spaces for the worker, which leaves her vulnerable to various types of exploitation and isolation. The present system leaves little recourse to women who struggle with adapting to a new environment alone, or who chance upon abusive or oppressive employers.
To spark a larger conversation about these helpers’ complex role and presence in our homes, I have drawn visual focus solely towards their beds/mattresses and the immediate area around them. This serves as an entry point beyond closed doors, while avoiding obvious and superficial indexing of identities to place and role. The photos are also crafted in response to existing types of images already in circulation, especially in the realms of advocacy work, documentaries and fictional films.
Eventually, I deemed that reconstructed text was necessary to contextualise the images. The text primarily aims to make my connection with participants and my position as artist more transparent. It reveals the relationships that created this project, as well as other forms of warmth, generosity, and liberty that aren’t indicated in the images. I also hope to offer some reflexivity about my own challenges navigating this terrain and the choices made. I hope that the work offers a nuanced representation of the complex sentiments surrounding familial dynamics and care work.
To spark a larger conversation about these helpers’ complex role and presence in our homes, I have drawn visual focus solely towards their beds/mattresses and the immediate area around them. This serves as an entry point beyond closed doors, while avoiding obvious and superficial indexing of identities to place and role. The photos are also crafted in response to existing types of images already in circulation, especially in the realms of advocacy work, documentaries and fictional films.
Eventually, I deemed that reconstructed text was necessary to contextualise the images. The text primarily aims to make my connection with participants and my position as artist more transparent. It reveals the relationships that created this project, as well as other forms of warmth, generosity, and liberty that aren’t indicated in the images. I also hope to offer some reflexivity about my own challenges navigating this terrain and the choices made. I hope that the work offers a nuanced representation of the complex sentiments surrounding familial dynamics and care work.
