Not an Extra: A Conversation That Changes How You See
- Artlune
- May 2
- 4 min read
We move through people every day without really seeing them. It’s a strange habit, how easily faces blur into the background and how quickly moments pass without leaving a trace.
So when the session opened with a simple question, “Can you recall even one face from the last busy street you walked through?”, it didn’t feel simple anymore. It felt personal.
That pause, that hesitation, became the entry point into Not an Extra, a walkthrough that didn’t just present an exhibition but invited a deeper conversation about visibility, memory, and the people we often overlook.
From an Exhibition to a Dialogue
Right from the start, it was made clear that this wouldn’t be a typical curatorial walkthrough.
“Let’s move this from an exhibition to a discussion,” the host said, inviting everyone to respond, reflect, and question.
Because of that, the experience shifted immediately.
Instead of being told what the exhibition meant, we were drawn into how it was built through observation, research, and a growing awareness of something we tend to overlook. At one point, the curatorial idea was summed up in a line that quietly anchored the entire session: “It’s not about what we see. It’s about what we fail to register.”
The title Not an Extra followed naturally from this idea. In cinema, extras fill the frame but are never central to the story. In the same way, this idea extends into real life towards the people who build cities, clean streets, and sustain systems, yet remain on the margins of how we talk about society.
When the Artworks Enter the Conversation
As the artworks came into view, the tone of the discussion shifted from conceptual to deeply personal.
Extras of the World
The Extras of the World series, created during the global refugee crisis, became the starting point. These works capture figures we’ve all seen before in news flashes, headlines, and fleeting images, but rarely paused to consider.
One participant immediately pointed out the scars visible in the works. That observation stayed with the group. The scars were not just physical, but they seemed embedded in the textures and surfaces around the figures. Because of this, the work felt heavier. What the artist does here is slow down those fleeting visuals and hold them in place, asking the viewer to stay with them a little longer.
Works Inspired by COVID-19 Scenes
From there, the conversation moved closer to home when the 2020 lockdown was brought up. While some experienced it as a shift to working from home, others faced a complete collapse of their livelihood.
This contrast came through strongly in Foot Tells a Thousand Stories, where cracked, worn heels become the focal point. There are no faces and no identities, only the physical evidence of distance, exhaustion, and survival. Someone shared how these feet reminded them of people they had seen growing up, details they had noticed but never truly processed.
The emotional weight deepened further with Home is Where I Prefer to Die. Inspired by the tragic incident of migrant workers resting on railway tracks during their journey home, the work carries a painful contradiction. “Home,” which is often associated with safety, becomes a place people are willing to risk everything to reach. When this story was shared, the room fell silent. It was not a moment for interpretation but simply for acknowledgement.
She Resists
At this point, She Resists introduced a shift in perspective. Instead of movement, it focused on stillness and resistance through refusal. The figure holds her ground and challenges the idea that survival always means leaving.
Memoir De Grooming
In contrast, Memoir de Grooming offered a quieter and more intimate moment. A mother braiding her daughter’s hair becomes a simple yet powerful act that carries warmth, memory, and belonging. After the intensity of the previous works, it reminded everyone that what people carry with them is not just struggle but also connection and care.
Questions That Opened Up the Room
As the walkthrough progressed, the conversation became more layered. Questions were not just asked but explored together.
What does this exhibition want people to take away? The response was simple. Awareness. We do not expect a major shift, but a subtle change in how we notice the world around us.
Another question went deeper. Why were migrant workers seen as “carriers of crisis”?The discussion unpacked how, during the lockdown, those most affected were also perceived as threats. Because of their working conditions and constant movement, they were seen as potential carriers rather than people in need. This revealed how quickly perception can strip away humanity.
Then came a more introspective question. Why do we keep referring to them as “they”? The answer was not defensive. Instead, it was reflective. That distance comes from how society has conditioned us to see certain groups as separate or peripheral. In many ways, the exhibition seeks to reduce that distance and bring those lives into sharper focus.
What Stays With You
Towards the end, someone asked if the exhibition leaves any unresolved questions.
The response was unexpected. “It’s not unresolved. It depends on how you choose to see.”
And that is where Not an Extra stays with you. It does not impose meaning or offer clear conclusions. Instead, it creates a quiet disturbance, a shift in awareness that lingers.
Because if there is one thing the session made clear, it is this: overlooking something does not make it disappear.
The next time you walk through a crowded street, you might pause for a second longer than usual. Not just to look, but to really see. Because they were never “extras” to begin with.
Explore Not an Extra now at https://www.artlune.com/projects/not-an-extra
Share your feedback with us after you finish exploring the works.
