The SK!N Project website is a digital extension of TerryandTheCuz's 2016 theatre show 'SK!N', which is an experiential installation based on true stories from those who went through the experience of being trafficked. Photo: Filepic/The Star
Would you know it if you crossed paths with someone being trafficked?
In the run up to World Day Against Trafficking In Persons (July 30), theatre company TerryandTheCuz has launched an interactive website to address the issue by raising awareness about human trafficking and how pervasive it is in our society.
The website is a digital extension of their contemporary live performance SK!N, an experiential installation which is based on true stories from those who went through the experience of being trafficked.
The production was also a recipient of the 2015 The Krishen Jit Fund and the 2016 Australia Council Creative Grant for new work.SK!N made its debut in Kuala Lumpur in August 2016. The performers were Suhaili Micheline, Wong Jhy Shyong and Lee Ren Xin, who worked together with Australian choreographer Ashley Dyer, to create the show’s dance piece.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to the show just as it was about to be launched in Europe, forcing TerryandTheCuz to pivot.
“It made us think about theatre-making and the art of storytelling, how it has been adapted to online platforms and how we can continue to create an impact beyond the stage,” says Govin Ruben, TerryandTheCuz co-director (aka the Cuz), at the recent launch event for the website in Kuala Lumpur.
SK!N has its origins in the performing arts scene, but its themes are tied to a global issue.
“Our aim is to now explore new presentation models by re-imagining this project in the digital sphere, where we want to create an online experience based on the original production, which will focus on human trafficking stories in Kuala Lumpur,” he explained, adding that it took about two years to develop the website.
Ruben says the SK!N Project website aims to share stories and spread awareness while also collating information and resources to fight human trafficking in Malaysia. Photo: The Star/Azhar Mahfof
Around 120 personal experiences have been collected for the project so far, but TerryandTheCuz hopes to replicate the process in other cities and add on to the website, creating “a digital anti-trafficking awareness universe.”
However, TerryandTheCuz co-director Terence Conrad emphasised that their focus remains on telling stories.
“We’re not an activist theatre company, we’re storytellers. That is why the website was designed to tell the stories we collected in an engaging way – we didn’t want to just share statistics or consolidate data,” he said.
Ending the vicious cycle
The website is the first component of the SK!N Project, which comprises three parts – 'Interact', 'Experience' and 'Immerse'.
It lays the groundwork to draw users’ attention to the supply and demand chain in human trafficking and how consumption of certain services or products can perpetuate this vicious cycle.
Through browsing its sections, users will be asked to examine their own complicity in the process and encouraged to explore their privilege, choices and collective responsibility.
After agreeing to the terms laid out in the disclaimer, you’ll be asked five questions randomised from a bank of about 50 questions. From there, the website’s algorithm will determine how you may be contributing to human trafficking in your country.
You will then be able to read insights collected from actual survivors of human trafficking, who come from a range of industries, from construction to retail to service.
Performing arts and NGO community participants seen at the SK!N Project website launch (from left) Ruben from TerryandTheCuz, Adrian Pereira of North South Initiative, Joseph Maliamauv of Tenanganita, Liva Sreedharan, independent consultant, and Nadiah Lukman from Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor.
The 'Experience' component is an experiential exhibition that is curated in collaboration and consultation with leading local human rights groups, providing a platform for conversations on the topic, while the Immerse component is the the performance itself, where members of the audience get a hands-on experience of what trafficked persons go through as they are registered, processed and stripped of their belongings.
Separating myth from reality
The SK!N Project website also addresses common misconceptions about human trafficking. For example, the myth that only undocumented migrants are trafficked is highlighted – the reality is that many who are trafficked are documented and have the right to live and work in the locality where they are trafficked.
Another reality that may hit home for many of us is the fact that it’s likely for major brands that we use in our everyday lives to use labour from trafficked persons due to the complexities of global supply chains.
Users will also learn about the government agencies and NGOs fighting against trafficking, such as the Anti-Trafficking In Persons and Anti-Migrant Smuggling Council (MAPO), Tenaganita, Project Liber8, North-South Initiative and Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor. Representatives from these organisations were also present at the launch.
TerryandTheCuz founders Ruben (left) and Conrad seen at the SK!N project website launch in Kuala Lumpur on July 20. Photo: TerryandTheCuz
“Indeed, this is a great achievement and a new promising milestone which blends well with this year’s theme for World Day Against Trafficking In Persons: ‘Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind’,” said MAPO undersecretary Syuhaida Abdul Wahab Zen, who lauded the launch of the website in a statement.
“We hope this website will serve as a junction for people fighting human trafficking by creating pathways to useful information and the reporting of abuses,” she added.
TerryandTheCuz worked with new media art collective Filamen to design the website, and collaborated with local NGOs to gain new insights and update their findings from the original performance.
The company is currently in discussions for the production to finally have its European premiere in the Netherlands in 2025 and to have a limited engagement immersive performance and experiential gallery with the United Nations General Assembly in New York in the near future.
