Unfortunately, I was born poor.

(Related Project: ‘The Holy Sponge’)
2023
Text, Zine, Poster, Sticker



A zine depicting the challenging life of being a deprived kitchen sponge, juxtaposed with a poster of the prosperous King Sponge.


Text in Zine
I am a kitchen sponge.
My body is soft, porous and yellow, it looks somewhat like cheese.
I have 9 siblings from the same pack.
Although we share last names, we havedifferent skin colors.
Some of us are red, some are blue, and some are green.
However, all of us have short and stiff dark green hair.

Sometimes, I want to try dying my hair to different colors but I am too busy being used in a human's cleaning job.
I have the ability to absorb (not knowledge but) liquid.
But I wish I could dry myself too.
Everyday, I am soaked in water.Over 8 hours a day.So cold that I cannot stop shivering.
I sleep in the same sink again.
It takes the whole night to recover and get dry again.
When the sun comes, I’m soaked again.
People in the kitchen use me to remove stubborn dirt.
It always hurts when their rough hands squeeze my body.
I get new bruises every day I lose my hair every time they scrape me into dirty pans.
Maybe I need to buy vanishing cream and anti-hair fall shampoo.

Unfortunately, I was born poor.
I cannot afford any pricey products.
My life is cheap.
My siblings and I were sold for less than two euros.
I am hungry.
People never feed me, they only force me to work.
But thankfully, I can secretly eat leftovers while people rub me on dishes.
I worked until my back got crooked.
I worked until my body was full of bacteria.
I guess I will have to work until the last second of my life.
My lifespan is so short.
I experienced being a witness to the death of my siblings.
We, as the working-class kitchen sponges, couldn't access any treatment and we don't have any health insurance.
We don't leave any letters because we cannot write.
We don't have a funeral like people do.
Before I was thrown away.
I wonder what it's like being held gently by rich people's soft hands.
Would rich people feed me with a golden spoon?
Would they tell me a bedtime story and send me to bed?
Would other people respect me if I'm wealthy and live in a rich house?

If yes, would I become more valuable?