Context of Homerun (adapted from https://www.superherome.sg/):
A community arts exhibition featuring the work of five children – Alfred Goh, Brandvan Yang, Maryangelly Jayabahan, Nur Shahanis Binte Johar and Raden Rauf Bin Radin Padli – who share their perspectives on childhood to mark the end of their six-year journey with ‘Superhero Me’. Set in two rental flat units at Blk 55, the kids hosted the public on guided tours over 10 weekends in 2020.
Dione, a team member of Skillseed, reflects on her experience visiting the art exhibition at the end of last year.
“One day, I hope we will be irrelevant, where children of different backgrounds and abilities can go to school and learn together, and not be separated by their academic abilities.” These were words from Jean, the lead producer and trainer of the ground-up inclusive arts movement, ‘Superhero Me’, which still lingered in my mind while I was waiting for the lift after visiting the Homerun exhibition. It is counterintuitive, for a founder to be striving for the irrelevance of her brainchild one day. At the same time, it is selfless. Because at the heart of their work, the team behind ‘Superhero Me’ is child-centric. It was exemplified in every presented art piece during the 1-hour tour held inside two rental HDB flat units of Lengkok Bahru. However, this place is symbolic as it was a safe haven for the five 12-years-old children, whose works were featured in the turbulent year of 2020. Once I stepped in, the unassuming facade took a whole new meaning for me as a visitor too.
Affectionately known as “Teacher Jean” to the children, Jean greeted us with a bright smile on her cherubic face. She was in a ‘Superhero Me’ T-shirt, just like our two young hosts, Brandvan and Maryangelly (Mary), whom we had the privilege of meeting that day. With sparkles in her eyes that are hard to miss, Jean shared her passion for ‘Superhero Me’ and the sold-out community art show which took about 9 months to come to fruition. Using an inclusive art approach, she together with the support of other volunteers, journeyed alongside a few children living in rental flats throughout their primary school days. From a tender age, the children were invited to use Art to view life and express themselves. For a start, they created costumes based on whom they would like to be, running the gamut from animals to fantastical characters. Staying true to ‘Superhero Me’, donning the costumes creates confidence and develops creativity in the children, empowering them to believe that they can be more than what they grew up witnessing in their families / community. It was amazing to see these photographs - each child being comfortable in their own skin and dressed in amazingly-designed costumes, with illustrations digitally added as a backdrop. As we were browsing the photographs, Brandvan pointed out his younger self to us and Mary chipped in proudly to share that the decorations at the background were hand-drawn by herself!
Mary, when she was younger and participating in one of ‘Superhero Me’ art projects
One of the many larger-than-life photographs we saw
Thereafter, we were brought to a cosy room, which we later found out had served as the “PSLE cramming room” for the children. There, we watched a documentary on the making of Homerun and the snippets of this six-year journey with the kids who participated in this programme . Through this ground-up initiative, we saw how Asset-based Community Development (ABCD) was manifested, impacting one life at a time, through the children and their family members. Jean was able to touch lives intimately, supporting the families of these children on getting financial support and helping them academically. “We start small, but strong,” Jean shared with conviction in the video. I could tell that while this might be a tireless journey, it is nonetheless fulfilling, as I observed Jean beaming in pride despite watching this video for the umpteenth time.
The former “PSLE Cramming Room”
Then, it was the time for the children to shine! Despite starting off a little bashfully, Brandvan shared about his artwork, titled ‘Diet of Confidence’, which displayed a collection of clay and plaster sculptures of his allergies (due to his eczema), like peanuts and mushrooms, and his loves such as badminton and video games. It expressed his growth from being a self-conscious lad to a maturing youth who is grounded beyond his appearance. He even ended his sharing with words of wisdom beyond his age, “Don’t judge people before you know them.”
I had a curious question for Brandvan though,
Me: Hmm, Brandvan, can you explain why the things you love are all in white? (as pictured below)
Brandvan sharing with us the concept for his artwork titled ‘Diet of Confidence’. The painted items are some of his allergies, which included, seafood, peanuts etc.
Any guesses?
- - -
Brandvan: There was no time.
Everyone broke into laughter upon hearing Brandvan’s utterly point-blank answer. The authenticity of these kids is truly precious as the adults in the room chuckled.
Next up was Mary’s interactive art installment titled ‘Will You Succeed in Life?’, which is a mural that showcased a colourful flowchart prompting visitors several questions before reaching a conclusion of whether they would succeed in life. Just like Mary, this art display is quirky - with wheels for visitors to spin. She also revealed cheekily that the hidden rule in her flowchart for someone to succeed in life is if he or she cares about the homeless. So much can be (re)learnt from these kids, isn’t it?
Raine, one of our team members, interacting with Mary’s art installment alongside her
It was also a joy to watch Mary play Aunt Agony as we were invited to spin a digital wheel containing various aspects of life (Studies, Confidence, Friendship, Love, Family). Depending on what the digital wheel lands on, we will watch a short pre-recorded video of Mary’s advice on that topic. Her sassy advice speaks of maturity beyond her age, as she cooly advised one of our teammates to try out various dating apps in hopes of finding her Mr Right. Thou shalt not underestimate children.
We were also brought to appreciate the other artworks of Shahanis, which featured fabrics, mimicking the daily laundry hung out to dry, bearing patterns inspired by soundwaves of her favourite songs; Alfred’s acrylic map of Lengkok Bahru and the miniature photography exhibition of his big family and seemingly mundane household items directed and shot by Rauf.
Shahanis’ fabrics which represents days of the week
Seems like Alfred is already doing community mapping of his own neighbourhood!
Jean shared that this art project enabled Rauf to appreciate his family members more and gain confidence in his photography skills.
Ending the tour on a high note, our team was invited to sit for an “examination”. We could tell that that was the favourite part of the tour for our young hosts as Brandvan was wearing a cryptic smirk while Mary was bouncing and waving the ever-familiar classroom metre rule excitedly. The room was designed to induce stress, giving visitors an opportunity to imagine how the kids in school might feel during an examination. Throughout the “examination”, Brandvan and Mary played the roles of strict invigilators very well, as they distributed our papers (all MCQ, thank goodness), occasionally meted out verbal warnings on cheating and used the metre rule to knock on our tables. I have to admit that I was slightly flustered as the questions tested mostly on my (lacking) general knowledge about Singapore’s inequality, on top of the limited time given. When time was up, Mary and Brandvan marked our papers as my heart palpitated a little faster. Our marks were even indicated on the whiteboard as data-points amongst the prior visitors who had gone through the same “rite of passage”. Despite my discomfort, I appreciated this well-designed experience as it reminded me to be more mindful as an educator - that examination stress, though inevitable, can be addressed with more sensitivity while upholding the dignity of the students.
A picture of my examination paper and using a memento from Homerun to hide my embarrassing score
With our hearts full and heads filled with inspiration, I found myself feeling uplifted because I managed to find like-minded souls like Jean who fights the timeless battle against the old beast of inequality with kindness and creativity. The battle would be long and it would be challenging. However, the relentless pursuit of equity, not equality, behind the work of the ‘Superhero Me’ team will be something I will personally always root for. These kids will be alright, and so will many more in the future.
Sincere thanks to Homerun - Superhero Me for inviting us to experience this journey, especially Jean, Brandvan and Mary for being such amazing hosts
Photos taken by Skillseed