Foam 3h Presents Rebecca Sampson's "Apples for Sale": A Photographic Study of Identity and Migration

Foam presents the first museum solo exhibition of German-American artist Rebecca Sampson, focusing on her photographic study of Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong. The exhibition explores how these workers construct parallel identities through social media, creating an ambiguous sexual identity in a female subculture while navigating limited personal time and space.

Foam is proud to present 'Foam 3h: Rebecca Sampson - Apples for Sale,' the first museum solo exhibition of German-American artist Rebecca Sampson (b. 1984). The exhibition delves into the daily lives of Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, a population that, with limited leisure time and personal space, constructs parallel identities via social media channels. Sampson's layered, multi-media narrative incorporates documentary photography, social media footage, and text to portray the complex reality of these women who develop an ambiguous sexual identity within a female subculture. The project originated from Sampson's observations in Hong Kong in 2013, where she witnessed hundreds of labor migrants spending their Sundays in public spaces. Over time, she built relationships with them, contrasting the portraits she made and those created by the workers themselves with exemplary passport photos from their application forms. These official documents, obtained by Sampson under the guise of a potential employer, highlight significant deficiencies in local labor law. The artist juxtaposes these 'obediently smiling ladies wearing an apron with the text ‘Apples for Sale’' against the images these workers post on social media, prompting a critical question about the reality versus the constructed persona of the model housekeeper.

Visit and revisit 'Rebecca Sampson - Apples for Sale,' other exhibitions and events as a Foam Member. Further details about admission and booking can be found via the provided membership link. The research for the project was funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung in cooperation with the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin and within the context of the program Grenzgänger China – Deutschland. The Foam 3h exhibitions are made possible with support from the Gieskes-Strijbis Fund, the Van Bijlevelt Foundation and Kleurgamma Fine-Art Photolab.