Vignettes of life in Dormitories

Situated in industrial or far-flung locations, dormitories are structures hidden from public view. Few Singaporeans have seen their massive or sprawling structures, fewer still fail to notice even if they chanced upon them.

From the external, some appear simply as factories or high-rise residences. Security barriers keep them inaccessible to the public, and the living conditions of their migrant inhabitants are hidden from the public view.

This series of short films was produced in collaboration with film artist Min-Wei Ting. The film artist took the approach of shooting dormitories from a single-person view, the same way a layperson would encounter them - while standing in the street, walking or driving past them.

The videos are overlayed with vignettes composed from excerpts from focus group discussions conducted with migrant workers about their experiences living in these dormitories during COVID-19.

To learn more about Min-Wei Ting’s work, click here.