In a small village in Thailand, a story is told again and again. If someone has parents or relatives working in South Korea, their home will change in visible ways. Concrete walls replace old wooden planks. Glittering gold bracelets take the place of plastic bangles. These images are summed up in a single phrase: “going to dig for gold.”

But the gold in that story does not appear by itself. It is laid over bodies, over minds, and over countless hours of labor. The bodies that carry dreams become invisible in the cities they help to build. Fatigue is covered by a shimmering surface. The Thai saying “a rag wrapping gold” (ผ้าขี้ริ้วห่อทอง) describes something whose rough or humble exterior hides a precious core. Here, the gold is the image of success and prosperity seen by society. The rag is the reality of work and daily life that is rarely spoken about. It is the truth beneath the shine, hidden from most people’s view.

This exhibition explores the tension between what is seen and what is concealed. In one video installation, migrant workers are transformed into golden images projected through an “invisible” screen. Viewers do not realize that they are being bathed in the golden light until they look through a filter embedded in the work, only to discover that their own image is interwoven with that of the workers in the video.

In another piece, rainbow-striped plastic bags, symbols of the working class, are covered in delicate gold leaf. The gleaming gold overlays the coarse plastic surface and obscures the marks of the hands that once carried heavy loads.

There is also a series of paintings that use the colors of the rainbow-striped bags to depict the house of my own uncles who once worked in South Korea, seeking to explore what their lives are like today. Some homes still hold traces of the dreams once brought back. Others tell stories of decay, quietness, and the absence of those who have left, as if the gold that once wrapped them has slowly peeled away over time.

Gold here serves a double role. It is both the light of success and the curtain that hides the marks of its makers. This work asks viewers: when you see the golden glow of the modern city, do you ever look to see who stands beneath its light?