Kiap Kiap Revolution was a participatory art exhibition co-produced by 3Pumpkins and Carolyn, and co-created with artist Jimmy Ong. The exhibition, held between 09 and 19 March 2023, was commissioned by Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay for their annual March On festival.

““Kiap” (Hokkien): The act of squeezing or gripping an object; a colloquial reference to the giant tongs in claw machines; a connection between people.”

— Kiap Kiap Revolution

About the exhibition

Tak Takut Kids Club (TTKC), a child-centric community arts centre run by 3Pumpkins, is often inundated with well-meaning donations of toys and dolls that the children don’t actually need. Visual artist, Jimmy Ong, responded by spending time with the children during his residency at TTKC to manually deconstruct and re-construct the toys and dolls; rediscovering, in the process, matters like charitable giving, social dynamics and the environment. This participatory art showcase invited children and adults to spend time together to re-imagine, re-order and re-connect as a larger community.

The project included pre-exhibition sewing sessions from 16 to 18 February 2023. Volunteers gathered with their sewing kits and generous enthusiasm to create dolls that were used to fill the claw machines.

Read reflections on the exhibition here.