The end of the working day

The end of the working day, film 15'28", 2015
This film documents the journey home of a group of young men working in the HarbourFront area, as they travel to their accommodations near Changi Airport in Singapore. The footage was filmed in one continuous shot, with the men sitting quietly throughout the ride — one eventually falls asleep. Like many others, they make this daily commute. A few months after the film was shot, the workers' vehicle was involved in a serious accident, though fortunately, everyone survived. As of 2014, Singapore’s foreign workforce totals approximately 1.34 million, comprising 37.9% of the overall workforce (source: Ministry of Manpower). Many of these workers come from countries like China, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

When I work I miss them, when I sleep also I miss them

When I work I miss them, when I sleep also I miss them, film 7'02", 2015
The camera captures these fragments of reality for only as long as the light produced by the welding process lasts. The workers’ repetitive movements and actions appear for mere fractions of a second, only to disappear into darkness again and again. Around them, the jungle bears witness to their labour, intermittently illuminated by the flashes of their welding machines. “When I sleep I miss them, when I work also I miss them,” is a quote from Bangladeshi worker and poet Zakir Hussain in an interview. His words encapsulate the experience of millions of migrant workers who have travelled great distances to earn a living for the families they left behind. Modernity, capital, colonialism, war, human emotion, and nature intersect in complex ways, creating the paths that individuals navigate.
The end of the working day, installation view, Bring it to Life, Place. Labour. Capital, NTU Center for Contemporary Art Artist Resource Platform, Singapore, 2015

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