Projects
Skin Coat
A man wears a woman’s skin coat in order to visit his male lover’s parents in their village.
John returns to his village with his lover Eleanor, but his father passes away just as they arrive. At night in private, Eleanor removes her skin coat and is revealed to be a man. At the funeral, the Priest persuades them to stay longer for a welcome ceremony, which they reluctantly agree to. Eleanor slips out to a magic lake at night to soothe his irritated skin. One night, she runs into the Hunter who becomes infatuated. Later, Mother finds out that Eleanor is a man, and forces the couple to keep up the act until their departure. Eleanor’s inflamed skin worsens, and help is sought from the Doctor. At the ceremony, which turns out to be a surprise wedding, the jealous Hunter throws Eleanor into the fire, burning the skin coat and exposing his male form. The villagers pursue the couple into the forest. To protect them, Mother puts on the abandoned skin coat and runs towards the Hunter, who shoots her. Through Mother’s lifeless eyes, John and Eleanor disappear into the dense forest.
I am gay and grew up in Singapore, where sex between two males was a crime. From a young age, it was difficult for me to envision my future, so I turned to writing stories of hope and resilience. In this story, the skin coat is a metaphor for identity and gender. The gay couple (John and Eleanor) play familiar roles that bleed into one another: lover, child, woman, man. These roles are sometimes contradictory, with one taking precedence over the others according to societal expectations. John and Eleanor’s story is told through aspects of life that affect everyone: love, family, and death. Often at their breaking point, they grapple with what is normal for them and for those they encounter. They seek ordinary lives, but what do their fleeting moments of a ‘quotidian utopia’ look like? John and Eleanor must hide their true nature in order to survive. In the end, they manage to break free, but at what cost? Is escape sometimes the only answer?
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