Indoor Playground is a mobile interactive installation created in Escolta, Metro Manila, the Philippines at 98B Production and Research Residency Program from April 1 to 30, 2017. The installation was temporarily located in various areas on the street as a free play – hang out for local children who lived on the street with their families. At that time (now unknown), there were many street-living families in Escolta district. Children there invented their own play by combining trash they picked up. Hence the city is a free playground for local children. During the residency period, I joined them and started to sleep on the streets (as my residency had no air conditioner and was almost impossible to sleep there at night), and jointly created playground apparatus such as a slide, jungle gym, etc.,by combining the materials I picked up and the donated materials.
Inspiration for this project came from the artist’s experience in 2015 of encountering with a team of children thieves in Metro Manila. One evening they stole the artist’s camera which had many footages of children in Tacloban, Layte where still at early stages of recover after Typhoon Yolanda. The artist felt quite shocked to see children abused for organized crimes designed by adults, and felt ironic that they stole the camera containing also troubled children under disaster in different context. The artist originally thought of creating a playground in Tacloban. Instead he has created one for children in Manila under man-made disaster of poverty. It had to have a mobile functions as the street families were pushed around in the city under massive gentrification and police survailance.
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant
2016, found objects in Manila, Philippines made possible by 98B Creative Residency and Nomura Art Foundation grant