Untold Sex Workers Stories

Artist: Priyanka Medium: Acrylic on paper

Artist: Nadia Medium: Acrylic on paper The painting with the heart represents schizophrenia, which refers to the personalities people exhibit - to their loved ones and public. Nothing is black and white in life, thus it is depicted as a washed out painting. Different shades of grey shows that nothing is clear. Haphazard - our life is never a clear-cut path as we go through ups and downs. Sometimes you might not even know that you are going through a hard time, but you just do it.

Artist: Sonia Medium: Acrylic on paper A normal transgender has a lot of dreams and hopes, represented by the bright colours above her head. She hopes that one day, she can live her life and grow up, just like a tree. The tree will eventually become a fully grown tree with many branches.

Artist: Shanti Medium: Acrylic on paper

Artist: Tracy Medium: Acrylic on paper

Artist: Lydia Medium: Acrylic on paper

Artist: Sharmila Medium: Acrylic on paper

Artist: Lisa Medium: Acrylic on paper The persona of a person can be represented by a few colours. Blue represents one's calmness, green - envy, and red - anger. Blue shows that the person is calm despite envy and anger one may have. Character. Black represents the darkness within us. Orange coupled with red represents purity. Purity can cover the darkness within us, but it will always exist because you can never see the white - purity in its truest form.

Artist: Judy Medium: Acrylic on paper This is my smile. However, when you look back, what do you see? Sadness. Loneliness. This is me. The one who loves black and white. The one with crimson red lips. Here, my red lips represent happiness, but when my lips turn the other way round, it is sad. Who I am depends on your perspective.

Artist: Maya Medium: Acrylic on paper I feel like I’m a bird flying tree to tree. However, every tree I go to, often, I have to put up a fight, like certain phases in life I find difficult to go through. It’s as if whenever I fly somewhere, I have to pick the right tree, just like how I am trying to find the right path in life.

Artist: Sherry Medium: Oil on canvas The black dots are a representation of discrimination the community of sex workers face, depicted as colourful blocks in the painting. We are actually full of vibe, however discrimination slowly destroys it, bit by bit. Just like how discrimination dulls and stains the vibe that sex workers have, the black dots destroy the original vibrancy of the painting.

Artists: Sherry & Charizka Medium: Acrylic on canvas Depression is represented by the different shades of purple. The seated sculpture in the middle represents anyone undergoing stress or depression in life, be it being the way they are, not being accepted by the society. The border represent the outer life of one who may be unhappy. This means that someone can seem happy and cheerful but if you look closer, beyond the facade, they may be depressed.

Artist: Margaret Medium: Oil on Canvas

Artist: Freda Medium: Acrylic on paper It depends on the sense of every individual. Within the transsexual community, that’s representative of an individual. I support the transsexual community because I am one myself.

Artist: Sofie Medium: Acrylic on canvas This is a representation of the clothes and the make up I put on, because when I dress up, customers will be attracted.

Artist: Mastura Medium: Acrylic on canvas Transgenders are like children chasing after kites. We will always be chasing something that we will never get. For instance, the society to accept us for who we are.

Artist: Sally Medium: Acrylic on canvas I have always liked handicrafts since young. Before I entered the sex industry, I earned money by selling handicrafts but business was not doing so well. This painting represents my life, life when I was not in the sex industry.

Artist: Sonia Medium: Oil on canvas The numbers represent the different stages we go through in life and the different thoughts we have as we age. 1 refers to stage when we were born. 30, where we have a lot of learning to do. 60 is when we need to be mature and 100 is when we are old and safe.

Artist: Maya Medium: Oil on canvas

Artist: Amber Medium: Oil on canvas This represents how I need to prepare before I go to work. I need to apply make-up and curl my eyelashes.

Medium: Oil on canvas Before I worked in the sex industry, I used to make make money by selling flowers made of paper and cardboard, which reminds me of my old self and how I earn money.

Artist: Dion Medium: Acrylic on canvas Selamat Hari Aidil Fitri is during the Hari Raya season. I feel very happy.

Artist: Mei Ling Medium: Oil on canvas

Artist: Ah Peng Medium: Oil on canvas

Artist: Lily Medium: Acrylic on canvas