The first art piece which were many tables with babies sitting on them holding either a green tick or a red cross made me feel kind of creeped out but at the same time I was reminded of the first time I entered primary school, which was the first step to adulthood and it made me remember the feeling of loneliness as my parents dropped me off at my class. It was the next phase of our life where we would gain more independence and it was a very memorable experience for me. The ticks and crosses reminded me of a test, and the ticks stood for passes while the crosses stood for fails. This could symbolise who would be successful in life as an adult and who would not. Some babies were also elevated on two or even three tables and this symbolised class level to me or the level of success they would reach in life.
The next of the art pieces were several pictures depicting a class sitting stony-faced for a class picture, a child playing in the courtyard and a girl sitting in the cafeteria. All these pictures made me feel very nostalgic and remember the carefree recesses I used to spend while in primary 1 and 2. It also made me remember the many class pictures I took as well throughout the years. The child playing by herself and the girl sitting alone in the cafeteria could symbolise social isolation that some experience. I also felt like there was no unity within the class in the picture as no one was smiling and everyone looked very uncomfortable. To me, this all felt like examples of isolation.
The next picture was of food. This symbolised the unity in Singapore with our different races as there was food from all the different ethnicities, therefore i felt like it was meant to represent racial harmony and how all the different types of food could co-exist together.
Next was a picture of a city with a persons face highlighted with light, students holding barbie dolls, children holding an X in a void deck with a tired man sleeping on the table probably because of exhaustion. There was also a picture of a student doing her homework and her family crowded around her to help. This shows our different transitions of life and that eventually we will be burdened and not be playing with barbie dolls anymore, instead, growing up and facing the challenges of life like work, money and family. The order in which the children in the void deck were placed could also mean the different stages of childhood as it was from youngest to eldest.
The next piece showed many students sitting in a classroom looking like they were concentrating very hard on the thing in front of them. Some of them looked worried, with frowns creasing their brows and this reminds me of the expressions in class when a teacher talks about which courses we are going to take after O levels, or rather, our future. This students could be looking towards their future and are thinking hard about what they are going to do, or are still troubled as they do not know what the future might hold for them. This made me feel sympathetic as i understood the feeling of being troubled because of the future.
The next piece was a slideshow. There was a lady playing with her baby in the pram and they were in a park and she was using handsign while her baby watched her.This one was really very interesting as it showed something that all parents and teachers try to do. They try to prepare us for the world, but as we are children, we do not understand what they mean and merely see the world as a beautiful place where exists only playful days and happiness. The hand signs started off with words that meant things like "happy baby" and "beautiful girl" but soon turned to more stressful things like "child abuse" and "social isolation" and even onto issues concerning the world such as "Global warming" and "Unemployment". The baby may not be able to fully understand what is going on but, using hand language it gets a vague idea that there are things out there in the world which isn't all fun, games and innocence. It showed me how parents try to make sure their children are prepared for the dangers and obstacles once they are grown up and have to leave the safety of their parent's love and protection. Also, there was a clip in which a white and asian woman was trying to explain hand signage and it showed contrast as the white lady only nodded while the asian lady used handsign. The subtitles for handsign also showed that only the most specific words were used as signs, like 'want' and 'eat' so it would be 'want eat?' and it showed me that this is a simple and efficient way of communication as children find it easier to understand and help parents to find a way to communicate with their children who have not learnt to speak yet. This helps to close the communication breach between them.
There were also desks and there were words on it like "book, pen, formula, exam number, student, study. University" and "BAD GRADES, UNSUCCESSFUL?" It showed the contrast of when we were babies and now when we have entered Secondary School where we need to worry about national exams, our future and many other stressful things rather then things like when I will be able to eat ice cream or what game I should play for recess. It shows the true transition of child to adulthood. The desks also stand for the many problems that the world faces, such as money issues, terrorism and other things like that. Each desk had one problem written on it if you looked closely.The moving pictures on the screen are also in relation to the different problems on the desks.
Letter to the people in the class:
Dear class,
Are you afraid of your future? Don't you wonder what kind of courses you are going to do in JC or Polytechnic? I also wonder what sort of courses and where i will go to in the future, but its always best to focus on the present and try your best in everything you do right now rather then worry about the future. It's good to think about it thoroughly but not to the extent of worrying yourself.
Right now, it is best to make the correct friends and excel in your work while at the same time focusing on your weaker subjects to pull them up. I think it is normal to be afraid of the future but we should just embrace it and make the best of whatever life throws at us even though we are scared.
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