Pocard - Singapore Version Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Nov 23 2024

Location: 

Singapore

Concept
1. This is a participatory art action initiated by Action Office, aiming at questioning current democratic elections in Singapore and shaping an alternative possibility.
2. Design the pocards to resemble ballots, inviting people to fill out election results and mail them to the corresponding country’s polling stations or current government.
3. The people sending the pocards can include long-term residents of democratic countries without voting rights, individuals from non-democratic countries with opinions and interest in foreign elections, or citizens with voting rights.
4. The pocards can be sent during election periods as a form of political expression for the current election. Alternatively, they can address past elections, allowing participants to revise their choices as a reaffirmation or a reconsideration of their previous decisions.

POBASG1425
1. Due to the strict control of political expression by the ruling party in Singapore, the design of the pocards incorporates wordplay. Officially, it appears to be about choosing a type of “party,” but in reality, it refers to political parties.
2. The front of the pocard features a design incorporating the colors of the Singaporean flag, censored text, and a “Party Announcement for Public.” Additionally, the abbreviation “PAP” subtly hints at the ruling party’s long-standing dominance.
3. The bottom-right corner of the front page features a 13-digit number. “POBASG” represents the Singapore version of this pocard project; “1425” refers to the 14th election in Singapore, following its independence in 2025; the last three digits represent the unique serial numbers for the first 200 pocards, ranging from 001 to 200.
4. The Action Office stamps each pocard to signify its issuance and approval.
5. The back of the pocard features four options, each with a double meaning corresponding to Singapore’s four political parties: PAP, PSP, SDP, and WP. The right side is left blank for each sender to fill in their own “Party Manifesto.”
6. The QR code is a filing form for the pocard after it has been mailed.

External sources: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nJ8yUTsYYKI-cbwHriJEM54EcLuSUSQrGF1K23niOok/edi…
Posted by xingdongoperation on Nov 26 2024

Staff rating: 

0

Effectiveness

How does this project help?

Activates (people)Energizes and organizes people into action. Can include emotion work
Amplifies (issue or campaign)Brings public and political attention to an issue or campaign.  Can include prefigurative action, making the invisible visible.
Strengthens (community)Strengthens, builds and celebrates community through ritual and/or symbol.

Timeframe For change

This project seems to be part of a campaign with a clear long-term goal. Long-term goals tend to be things like: end racism; end homophobia; make the sun stand still in the sky. A campaign with a long-term goal also needs to have some kind of theory of change.
We are keenly aware that in this era of rapid rightward shifts, power is concentrating with overwhelming force, and democracy can often serve as a guise for authority. During elections, your choices matter; but in the periods between elections, your voice remains just as important. You may regret past choices or wish to reaffirm them. Perhaps you didn’t exercise your right to choose and now seek a chance to express yourself, or perhaps you lack the right to choose in the land where you live but still long to have your voice heard. This pocard is designed for those who wish to express themselves at certain moments. While the pocard itself may not transform societal processes, we hope to create a small opening where individual choices can be expressed and amplified. Like a child by the sea casting a message in a bottle — the hope is deeply personal, yet the possibility of a reply remains alive. Believe and await the echo.