SUNDAY：臺灣當代移工藝術 SUNDAY: Contemporary Art on Migrant Workers in Taiwan

臺灣自1990年代起開啟大量引入海外移工的篇章。截至2024年9月底勞動部統計數據，在臺移工人口數已突破80萬人次，成為臺灣當前產業運轉不可或缺的基礎引擎。近年來，社會對移工議題的關注日益增加，然而，移工作為勞動者以外的多重面向與需求卻時常不被看見。

 

每逢週末，各地火車站附近的東南亞商店燈光閃耀，移工從勞動者狀態轉換，紛紛搭上列車離開居住處，活躍於臺灣的各個角落，展開個人休閒活動和多樣的社群聚會，彼此凝聚交流，留下充盈的生活記憶，這些記憶亦成為期待下一個週末的動力。多元文化也隨之碰撞、交融，漸漸成為臺灣文化的一部分。

 

「SUNDAY：臺灣當代移工藝術」展覽以「SUNDAY」為題，關注移工作為勞動力之外的生命軌跡，將其視為一種自由時刻的象徵，如同勞動制度的隘口，是生命喘息的出口，使人得以暫時脫離工作，重新成為時間的主人。「SUNDAY」不僅是屬於自己的自由時光，也承載著對未來的期待與盼望。

 

臺南市美術館透過當代藝術詮釋移工議題，邀請來自不同背景的移工及國內外藝術家，以「漂移之味」、「逃逸之方」、「艷陽下南風吹」三個子題，經由生命經驗的觀察、獨白與轉譯、交流與合作等創造過程，揭示移工不為人知的面貌。展覽也引發我們思考，在以移工為主體的多重情境中，始終隱藏著許多不被看見的心靈風景，應尊重彼此作為生命共同體，並發掘當代世界中，差異與相似皆真實存在。

 

Since the 1990s, Taiwan has opened its borders for large numbers of migrant workers, marking a new chapter in its development. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Labor, the number of registered migrant workers in the country exceeded 800,000 as of September 2024. Migrant workers have thus become an essential driving force behind the economy growth on this island nation. Public attention to migrant worker issues has gradually increased over the past few years, yet their identity and needs beyond being a laborer have often been overlooked.

 

During weekends, Southeast Asian grocery stores around the train stations become bustling, while migrant workers set aside the identity as a laborer, leave their residence, and get on the train to travel around Taiwan. They attend various leisure activities and community gatherings to socialize with each other and create fulfilling memories, which will provide them with something to look forward to for the upcoming weekend. Under such circumstances, diverse cultures come together and blend with one another, gradually becoming part of the Taiwanese culture.

 

The exhibition, SUNDAY: Contemporary Art on Migrant Workers in Taiwan, explores the lives of migrant workers beyond their role as laborers. Their holiday life (often on Sundays) is seen as a symbol of freedom and serves as a “loophole” of the labor system, whereby they can catch a breath amid the busy work and temporarily forget about it to regain control of their time. The title “SUNDAY” symbolizes not only their free time but also their hopes and aspirations for the future.

 

By inviting migrant workers and Taiwanese and foreign artists from diverse backgrounds, the Tainan Art Museum (TAM) presents issues surrounding migrant labor through contemporary art. With subthemes of “Flavors of Migration”, “Line of Escape”, and “Southern Breeze in the Sunlight”, the exhibition reveals different aspects of migrant workers that are less known to the public through life experience observations, monologues, translation, exchange and collaboration, along with other creative processes. The exhibition intends to prompt visitors to reflect on the diverse emotional states that are hidden beneath complex situations, with migrant workers as the subject. They can then proceed to recognize the importance of mutual respect in a shared life community and realize that differences and similarities do exist simultaneously in the contemporary world.