Change Agents
Singapore, we need to have the talk (or several talks): the one about race, migrant workers, and even mental health. But ready or not, this younger generation of change-makers is taking on these social issues head-on
Youths at the forefront of change in Singapore
MENTAL HEALTH HUN MING KWANG, 28, AND QUINN LUM, 28, SOCIAL ARTIST DUO HUNNY AND LUMMY
Whether as a CEO, an office worker, or a student, we all wear different “masks” every day. “We see the world for who we are. We put on different identities based on the roles, responsibilities, social groups, expectations imposed in us, that we lose touch with the core of who we are inside,” says Hun Ming Kwang (pictured right), one-half of social artist duo Hunny and Lummy.
Since March, the pair have been running maskmaking workshops as part of their Masks of Singapore Movement. Integrating the traditional cultural heritage craft of mask-making, each workshop engaged with participants to help them reconnect with their inner selves and boost mental health and emotional wellness.
Such participatory work is at the heart of their artistic practice, where the role of an artist is one of a social healer. “Art is a powerful tool to facilitate healing. We want to help people connect with their emotions—and that is the important part of what we do,” shares Quinn Lum, the other half of the artist duo.
Before Hunny and Lummy formed in 2018, Lum was a participant in Hun’s social artwork called Connection Without Sight. Two strangers, sitting back to back, would attempt to paint the essence of the other person on canvas. That is after getting through a set of guiding questions, which was actually designed to help each individual get in touch with their own emotions and instincts. The work resonated with Lum, a photography and digital imaging major, whose artistic practice explored identity, trauma and healing.
“A lot of the mental health issues are due to the difficult emotions we’ve never dealt with over time. We’ve been taught how to use our brains, but no one taught us how to feel. When we don’t know how to deal with difficult emotions, we tend to avoid them until it gets too overwhelming,” shares Hun, who is also a life coach and runs transformational programmes.
It was the suicide of two of his friends that led to the launch of the Thisconnect.today platform, which seeks to raise awareness of mental health, emotional literacy and combat suicide rates through art and conscious conversation. “Mental health and wellness are more than just about the symptoms and labels. It’s about addressing the personal challenges we face in life that cause us to feel distressed. This requires us to unpack the complex problems we face; problems that are deeply intertwined with the societal and cultural norms, family upbringing and social environment we live in,” Hun explains.
Through the Masks of Singapore Movement, they hope to create 500 masks by this month in a world record attempt for the largest display of communitymade hand-sculpted masks to raise global mental health awareness. The display will be part of their Thisconnect: What Am I, If I Am Not experiential art exhibition, held from September 10 to October 31, in conjunction with Suicide Prevention Awareness month in September and World Mental Health month in October. Through films, photography, performances and installations, the exhibition explores the idea of confronting our true self and yet having the courage and love to accept oneself, and reclaiming one’s personal power to re-own our lives. Hunny and Lummy will also be publishing two books this year around mental health and emotional literacy.
Hun expounds, “Art should be inclusive for everyone. It shouldn’t just be for the artists themselves and an expression of the ego. It’s really about bringing people and communities together, where they can actually go deeper within themselves. And when we foster and cultivate this self-awareness, we can detect mental health issues or emotional wellness struggles early on.”
“Art is a powerful tool to facilitate healing. We want to help people connect with their emotions” —QUINN LUM
FASHION AND INCLUSIVITY CLAUDIA POH, 25, FOUNDER OF WERABLE
Claudia Poh realised early on as a fashion design student that “it wasn’t enough for clothes to just look good, they had to inspire confidence too”.
She was in her third year at the Parsons School of Design in New York City in 2017, and one of the class projects required students to work in groups to design for a client who was diagnosed with ALS, a neurological disease affecting the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. “We designed a coat she could wear independently even as she experienced paralysis in her arms,” Poh explains.
There was a public presentation and the client shared how she can now go to work and leave work without having to turn to someone to ask for help to put on her coat. Poh recalls, “I’ve never seen the clothes I made actually impact someone’s life the way it did. It was a feeling I could never forget.”
She couldn’t stop thinking about the design challenges that popped up and the wardrobe essentials they had encountered during the project. So she decided to take on the challenge in her final-year thesis, where she co-founded Cair Collective with her friend and schoolmate Amy Yu Chen, to design a collection that could be worn hands-free. “It prompted me to dig deeper into why we create the things that we do and the kind of impact I wanted to make with the people around me.”
When Poh returned to Singapore, she decided to expand the scope of her research to scale for impact as there are still many other widely experienced challenges that have gone unaddressed. This laid the firm foundation for Werable, her own scalable adaptive apparel brand which is anchored on easy-to-wear styles, thoughtfully designed for life.
“I’ve never seen the clothes I made actually impact someone’s life the way it did. It was a feeling I could never forget”
Werable—a portmanteau of the words “we are able”—“unifies our two central ideas, where our clothes are designed for their wearability as well as their ability to give people a sense of agency and empowerment”, shares Poh, who set herself the challenge of exploring designs that go beyond this niche market. While adaptive basics are currently available, fitted clothes that also offer ease of wear, particularly for people who experience reduced mobility, are hard to find.
Poh shares an example, “People who have undergone bypasses, mastectomies, and even those who have fractured an arm, quickly realise that their existing wardrobes prove to be a challenge to don. Unless you have incredibly stretchy knits, the next best alternative would be to opt for a few sizes up.” To tackle this challenge, she deconstructs conventionally woven pieces and introduces sectioned ribbed knits in the areas that require more stretch. This helps ease any tension and also allows for greater flexibility.
Werable also seeks to restore dignity. Poh shares, “People don’t like to be singled out as needing special clothes, or help to get dressed. As we innovate easier ways of dressing, we challenge ourselves to innovate chic and unique styles as a means of reshaping systemic biases.”
The label currently has 26 prototypes, with a variety of shirts and trousers made in response to the challenge statements submitted by the patients and their caregivers at the Stroke Support Station, which supports poststroke rehabilitation needs. “The first prototype was a short-sleeved top with thin invisible zippers running along the entire side seam. This came about when a few of the caregivers we interviewed shared that it was especially challenging to get their care receiver’s arms through the sleeves of a T-shirt. The zipper was thin enough to be unnoticeable and it eliminated the need to lift the wearer’s arms.”
And as she continues to work more closely with the community, Poh finds that the designs have to evolve with the wearer. “Just as she recovers from a stroke, the clothes should retain features that also empower independence and become a source of encouragement, especially when she gradually regains her mobility and can wear them by herself. It’s our mission to inspire confidence through easy-to-wear apparel.”
From drafting the patterns to sewing, Poh does most of the work herself at the co-working studio The Cocoon Space at Design Orchard. She takes at least three weeks to churn out four to five iterations, testing both function and aesthetics. Next year, she hopes to launch a three-piece ready-to-wear collection: an arm sling, an assisted-dressing T-shirt, and a shirt fastened using pacemaker-friendly magnetic solutions. She is currently working on the prototype for the latter to help simplify dressing routines for those who find buttons a challenge to fasten.
“As the geriatric population grows, it’s only a matter of time before inclusive fashion makes its way into major retailers and brands. When that happens, adaptive fashion will be made more accessible and affordable.”