Poignant encounters in strangers' homes
Ordinary Singaporeans open their homes to the public and share stories of their lives - including the painful, heartbreaking ones.
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Helmi Yusof
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ONE of the quietest and yet unexpectedly revolutionary events at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is its Open Homes showcase. Here, 25 ordinary homes in Singapore have been opened to members of the public who sit in the living room while the homeowners reveal something about their lives. These revelations range from proud scholastic achievements to the difficulties of marriage to a recent death of a loved one.
One sits almost stunned sometimes in Yeo Whee Jim's home in Seasons Park as he talks about how he and his young daughter are carrying on after his wife's death from cancer two years ago. "My daughter tells me: 'Sorry, Daddy, but I love Mummy more . . . Mummy understands me better'," says Mr Yeo to a group of strangers who listen sympathetically.
In another home in Northvale Condominium, sisters Cheryl and Ting Ting give a Powerpoint presentation of their family tree. Anecdotes abound of how their parents met and how their own daughters are good friends. The 45-minute presentation ends with their daughters synchronise- dancing to a J-pop song.
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