A crashing start to arts carnival dedicated to foreign workers
By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 04 August 2007 2317 hrs

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SINGAPORE: A mini arts carnival dedicated to foreign workers got off to a crashing start on Friday.

A concrete statue of a migrant construction worker was knocked down by a truck, damaging it.

Besides losing a hand, its face was also scratched.

But ironically, the accident helped the artists make their point.

The sculpture was initially put on a platform opposite the landmark statue of Singapore founder Sir Stamford Raffles near The Arts House, as a commentary on the "common ground" migrant workers and Raffles shared as foreigners who contributed to the island's development.

But a truck backed into it and knocked it down.

"From this accident, we really believe that migrant workers are really pushovers. They're here today, gone tomorrow...we're not fixing the sculpture to what it was like formerly. We are trying to show the damage," said artist Justin Loke.

"Just like construction workers meeting with accidents at worksites, artworks also. I think it's the best reflection of reality, of real life where they meet accidents every day. So it's a sculpture of a construction worker after an accident," said artist Joshua Yang.

When first erected about a week ago, the statue attracted many curious stares from visitors along Singapore River.

According to the artists, tourists who have seen the statue say it looks a little too Caucasian.

That's because it is actually a mannequin covered in concrete.

It took the artists four months and $1,500 to complete the work.

Besides the carnival along the Singapore River, the artists are holding another one at Little India where the public, including foreign workers, can enjoy free interactive activities and performances.

The carnival is known as "Raised - A Mini Carnival at Little India" and it is showcased as part of Singapore Art Show 2007.

One of the activities includes making facial masks.

Artist Amanda Heng hopes these can then be exchanged between strangers so that different people can experience how it feels to be a foreign worker.

"I think (there are) many negative images...about foreign workers in Singapore. But I think there are positive sides....My ancestors were immigrants. So they were migrant workers in the early days....Coming to the present time, they (new migrant workers) are now contributing in a different way to our lives, to our society," she said.

The mini art carnival costs about $50,000 to put together.

The money came from the National Arts Council under its Curating Labs programme which encourages local artists to come up with innovative projects involving everyday spaces.

The carnival at Little India will run till the end of September.

It is being held at a field opposite Mustafa Shopping Centre. - CNA/ir