It is New Year’s Eve, and as 65-year-old Emily sits alone on her rocking chair while celebrations explode in the city outside, we are brought beneath her skin and into the story of her relationship with her son. She recalls the labour she went into, exactly 30 years ago this night; the many months of carrying her son, Ray with great expectation; the lonely darkness of her post-natal depression. She remembers the years of loving him and slowly letting him go as she sees him grow into the man he is now.

Inspired by personal narratives of maternity and postnatal depression, Under My Skin explores the complex journey of motherhood. Starring Catherine Sng, Rizman Putra and Pat Toh, this immersive work weaves movement, multimedia and sound to tell a compelling story of a woman making peace with her past.

Developed in residence at Centre 42

A Project Supported by the National Arts Council’s Creation Grant.
Supported by Italian Cultural Institute and BinjaiTree.

RELATIONSHIP TO ART & SKIN

The skin is never more fascinating then when observed during motherhood. In the short period of nine months, it stretches and pulls, sheltering another human being in a woman’s body. The skin remembers this happening even after birth—the marks of pregnancy live on in stretch marks and scars, mirroring the impression it leaves on a mother’s mind. But the mind, unlike the skin, cannot remember without repercussion, resulting in the struggle when the woman’s identity is replaced by that of a mother.