Showcase #2

Routine As Repertoire

by Sit Weng-San


Routines as Repertoire is an online and physical installation (post-covid) that uses photography and videos to explore routines that women and non-binary folks incorporate into our lives as our bodies go through transformations or challenges. In this project, individuals share their diverse routines; from taking medication, to the cleaning of wheelchairs, meditation, exercises, rest, community building, and so on. Through the sharing of routines, perhaps experiences such as illnesses, disabilities, aging, motherhood, and gender transitioning can be viewed beyond the tragic or heroic polarities, and the experiences may exist and be represented in all their complexities.

Anna Stump, an artist and educator, found that the incorporation of physical labour, such as the sweeping of floor, connects her with her ancestors and helps her to navigate severe hot flashes and debilitating pain in her shoulders due to menopause.


Nicole lives with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition that causes pain in joints and weakness throughout her body. During the pandemic, she began practicing yoga at home to reduce stress that often induces flares.


Weng-San is photographed in her room, which has been recreated like her dorm room in Temasek Hall, National University of Singapore. She has stage 1 lymphedema from cancer treatment and has incorporated different compression routines.
Images on the wall are from Shape magazine, 1999-2002.

 

 

Sit Weng-San is a Singaporean artist currently based in Singapore and Los Angeles who works primarily with still and moving images, complementing them with text, archival materials, and other media as the project dictates. She has a BA in Economics and worked for almost a decade in a maintenance chemical company before becoming an artist.