Ah Wah and Ah Kiat: Crossing Borders

Teo Eng Seng titled this work Ah Wah and Ah Kiat: Crossing Borders. At first glance, it looks like a collection of 200 toy motorcycle riders, all exactly the same. They are all hunched over with helmets on and arms straight to the handlebars, crammed together in an impossibly tight formation. To Teo, here is what they represent: Each day at least 350,000 people cross the Johor-Singapore causeway. Most are Malaysians, commuting to work each day in Singapore. It's one of the busiest border crossings in the world, with extremely heavy rush hour traffic. Teo's motorcycle riders are grey, cast from glass-reinforced concrete, a medium that reflects the enduring toughness of the riders. They are packed more tightly together than they could possibly travel in real life. Most are going in one direction, but like a busy traffic jam, some are trying to enter the larger group from the sides. The riders are like a faceless, collective mass. Crossing Borders is a reminder of the many people in Malaysia and Singapore who brave the crowds daily to travel to work, to school, or to visit relatives in each other’s countries. But there are two other riders in the middle of the pack you may have noticed, two golden figures. They stand out sharply as individuals within the crowd. Teo even gives them names, Ah Wah and Ah Kiat, in the title of the work. Through this work, Teo symbolically expresses the inherent value of the everyday worker. Their dignity persists not in spite of, but because of, their contributions to greater society.