Exhibition essay
Embedded Files
T H E I N V I S I B L E F U T U R E
F A C I N G T H E V I S I B L E P A S T
T H E I N V I S I B L E F U T U R E
F A C I N G T H E V I S I B L E P A S T
J E F F R E Y L I M
of footsteps & of self
of footsteps & of self
Genealogy fan chart depicts paternal and maternal ancestry starting to self as a point of reference.
Self portrait / mixed media / 2019. (image source– author)
Cycling through downtown Kuala Lumpur, through streets originating from the founding of the city, many times treading the places whose names I find hard to remember, as they have been changed yet again. Or perhaps, my connection with the city isn’t close to my cultural upbringing, I grew up in a suburbia west of the city, but for most of my childhood, I had to cross the entire city to get to school on the far east side. Rediscovering the city through a mapping project was a way for me to deeply reconnect myself with this place. Most of the time, I can’t help but wonder if they were the same places and footsteps taken by my paternal grandfather. His early life here is quite sketchy, we only understood that he left to seek refuge from the famine and civil war that was raging in Mainland China, the time when the crossover from the feudal age was ending. We can only deduce that he arrived mid to late 1930s by boat from Haikou (Hainan) Island, via Hong Kong to Singapore and by train to Kuala Lumpur, a journey that would take no less than two weeks. Much of my curiosity led me on a family history research, it has also brought many questions on the methodology of the naming convention and the patriarchal society we live in. We are after all made up of mothers as well, if not even more.
“Gua sudah bilang kat lu, pi situ…” (I have told you, head over there…) my mother’s conversation over the telephone with her ‘sister’. My mother speaks a strange type of malay, one that would be associated with the baba nyonya¹ culture of Malacca. Not only is her malay better than her english, but she also breaks out in songs from latin and sometimes french nursery rhymes. My mother was given up at birth, for many reasons, but mainly because she was a ‘girl’, blaming her Nyonya grandmother. She was left at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, Malacca and spent her entire early life into her late teenage years growing up in an orphanage, recalling it as happy memories of life, with an irony of abandonment, much still hanging over her. (In a turn of events at the time of my birth, she has since been reconnected with her real parents). Her trauma of lost and emotion has somehow transferred into my upbringing and desire to seek, for attachment or this sense of longing to belong². Much of her early life lacked any photographic evidence, and all the stories of her life were only by oral stories, and places, the address on her birth certificate, the school and orphanage where she grew up.
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1 Peranakans / Baba Nyonya, are an ethnic group settlers of Chinese descent in the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian Archipelago between the 15th and 17th centuries with a long history of transculturation and interracial marriage. (Books– Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum, Stories of one Malaccan Family / Melissa Chan, Henry Chan)
2 Conversation with KG Krishnan on Epigenetics– “experiential genetic imprint that is transferred generationally via maternal line”
Found photograph from a recent research trip for this exhibition to Malacca, 2020. My mother immediately recognised herself, the dress, sash, and singing in the choir. (image source– author)
Some of the heirloom prints of my father’s early years given to us by the Kemp family before they left after the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. (image source– author)
At a point in my adult life in 2005, I started a family history research, Projek Roots 林羅, (my paternal & maternal surnames; one of them a pictograph of trees with roots). For much of my life before, I was ignorant or perhaps oblivious to my being, as a form of escapism. It was due to the photography of the Kemp family, Mrs Alison Kemp who documented much of my father’s youth that I had some heirloom photographs to start with. My paternal grandparents worked as live-in servants for British families, the Kemp being the most charitable employers. My father spent much of his youth with their children which explained much of his anglo leanings. We owe much to them for bringing my grandparents out of poverty. My father continued this photographic trait, prompting interviews with my grandfather and seeking out relatives throughout the Peninsular, working at the Railway Hotel and the interstate train catering-carriage, to visit faraway places in his youth. Starting with the Kodak Brownie he was given by Alison Kemp, making photographs of distant relatives from Singapore, to Tumpat, to Mertajam, each corner of Malaya at that time. It’s only now that I have come to realise, I am in the footsteps of my father as well.
A.S.H Kemp standing left, First Cabinet of the Federation of Malaya, 4 August 1955, and later Private Secretary to Tunku Abdul Rahman after Independence. (image source– Di atas runtuhan Kota Melaka, pg 38)
Mr. & Mrs. Athole Stephen Horsford and Alison Kemp. Taken at their residence of Brockman Road, Kuala Lumpur, (later flatten and currently the site of Galeri Perdana) circa early 1950s. (image source– author)
Working in Singapore in 2007, I was perhaps in another form of escapism, this time from being in a relationship that was challenging and in contradiction with societal values and norms. An inter-‘racial’ relationship, which in a way, also symbolised the marriage and break-up of the Federation of Malaysia and the Republic of Singapore. It opened up a consciousness on the complexities of culture and politics, and how it has been indoctrinated into governing the masses. In reflection, this was a turning point in my life, where I sought to have a deeper understanding of this structure, the social circumstances which we are all found in and responding to. How and where were these legacies started? Why were there lines drawn in between society, who drew them? In between social classes, race, religion… What then defined (my) identity? … In a later interview after my latest project³ in 2019, I could only assume myself as a product of the state, I am a product of Malaysia.
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3 Cendana interview– Beneficiaries #1 (https://web.facebook.com/watch/?v=700234797069521)
For much of my youth, and even now on occasions, it has always been very intriguing for people to realise that I could not understand ‘chinese’. That it was not part of my ethnic or cultural upbringing. I would usually excuse myself for being of Nyonya origins, although that would not be entirely true. If it would be of any cultural roots, it would be my father with the Hainanese, or with my mother who is mainly Nyonya Hakka, and whichever it would be. Mandarin is still seen as the lingua franca and representative of being chinese, although it has blurred the lines between origins of ethnicity and nationalist alignment. I began my pursuit in recollecting narratives, of my parents and of their parents, using myself as a point of origin. Although it wasn’t as straightforward, I found that memory needed to have a form of reference, either from the context of language, or place, artefacts of photographs & objects, and more importantly time, in reference to emotion. Piecing together fragments of these varied memories and imagery, it started to paint a fuller picture.
Marriage. Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, taking oath at the swearing-in ceremony, 2 November 1963 (to join the Federation to make Malaysia). (image source– Malaysia, a Pictorial History 1400-2004, pg 234, image 3)
concepts of identity
concepts of identity
On being Chinese. Malaysian Government form for application for Identification Card, No 14. Race. 2020. (image source– author)
Independence declaration, 31st August 1957, for the Federation of Malaya. My uncle was at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), as part of a school assembly that spread out around the field to form a circle, it represented a myriad of ethnicities that would shape the new Malaya. Interestingly he held a Red IC until the 1990s, an indication of not being accepted as a full-fledged Malayan citizen. This was part of the identification system introduced to quell the communist uprising during the untold civil war called “The Emergency” after World War II. Much of our histories and national media has had state censorship and control, even now, over any publication within the country, on the grounds of national security. Nation-building included a national identity, which consisted of the three main ethnic races, namely the malay, indian and chinese. This is still evident in the modern historical consciousness and is the accepted national narrative. Politically there have been many counter arguments on the influence of one race above the other and underlying narratives among different communities, creating many different sides to the story. My decision to return to Malaysia in 2009 was to start addressing some of these, especially on the concepts of identity, but through subversive projects, as forms of reflection, or passive positive affirmation, with self-censorship. One was through the cycling culture and heritage, researching into the histories, producing restored & modified old traditional bicycles for modern use, another was the research into the designs of old vernacular products with the context of language, from symbolism to subject matter, reproducing painted signboards as signifiers of this new form of national identity and elements of consumerism.
Independence Declaration. Aerial image of Merdeka (Independence) declaration at Stadium Merdeka, 31 August 1957 (image source– Di atas runtuhan Kota Melaka, pg 96)
left: New Malaya. “First day cover envelope to commemorate Malayan Independence. The map of Peninsular Malaya bears a picture of three men (Chinese, Malay and Indian) standing together, representing the three major ethnic communities” (image source– Moving Mountains, Volume III, pg 213)
right: National Narrative. Muzium Negara (National Museum) Kuala Lumpur, modern ethnicity exhibit, 2019. (image source– author)
We were all indigenous at some point in time, when there was a different relationship to the environment around us, where our language and narratives were derived from our surroundings. There was a strong spiritual link that tied us to each other and the many realms, a different concept of interdependence rather than dominance or hierarchy over another. These were some of the understanding from the latest project Kanta⁴, involving the research of indigenous or tribespeople⁵ and their circumstances in the social constructs of today’s world. Using linguistics as a point of reference, the malay language as part of the Austronesian group, a study area was drawn up between East and West Malaysia with further explorations to Taiwan. Using the image-making of photography as a means of engagement, this project enabled a deeper insight into their alter-narratives⁶, every tribe emphasising the importance of the collective memory, oral traditions, and dreams as ways of seeing.
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4 Kanta portraits— a portraiture project as a search for self, and on concepts of identity
5 Tribespeople… engage in a culturally mediated social strategy, whether out of choice or under geographical or political constraint. “Tribal” thus refers not to some sort of “ethnic” category, but to particular socio-political circumstances of life. Geoffrey Benjamin & Cynthia Chou. Tribal Communities in the Malay World. ISEAS. 2002.
6 “Alternative narratives are those that provide different stories from the ones of dominant power structures, such as information provided by governments, corporations, organisations, the media, etc.” (https://alternative-narratives-vis-archive.com/)
Attachment performative installation, “11km walk … where i traced a path using a cotton thread…tracing along the river”. 2017. (image source– author) (https://attchmt.wordpress.com/gallery/)
exhibition collection
exhibition collection
The presentation of a culture, of photography, of a country has so many challenges. And for the exhibits to be in the form of a publication, a photobook, again renders difficulty in presenting an unbiased understanding. As the format of a book constitutes the need to formulate an institutionalised means of discourse, it is beyond the reach or of interest to many. In our current state, Malaysia as a nation is very young, forming a federation of states in 1963, comprising two distinctly unique land areas, the Peninsula (west) of the land mass to Asia and East Malaysia of Borneo, the islands link to Oceania. Indigenously consisting of two major language groups, Austroasiatic and Austronesian, one of the only countries to have both in the region. What would be the region of Southeast Asia, the Straits of Malacca one of the busiest straits, has seen a turmoil of piracy, empires and kingdoms, all for dominance, fought over centuries since the age of conquest in the name of discovery. The dawn of photography only started to document the Far East later with the coming of the west and their influences from the mid 1800s.
Cave drawings depicting human figures to animals from 3000 years ago– Gua Tambun (Caves), exhibition research trip to Ipoh, Perak, 2020. (image source– author)
A young boy named Dick, was the visual and physical archetype of ‘Africanized’ slavery practised in the Malay Archipelago, “Papuas” or “aboriginal black race”, of the inland and interior peoples as Negroes or Negritos. Sandra Khor Manickam, Taming the Wild, ASAA, 2015. pg 14, 28, & 29. (image source–Natalie A. Mault. 2015. Java as a Western construct: an examination of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles’ “The History of Java”. 1813).
The legacies of early photography and their portrayal needs a deeper discourse. For one it was in the control and used in the interest of the west, of the wealthy and their influences. Subjects and landscapes were chosen mostly in a romanticised ideology of portraying the Orient⁷, it’s societal structure and their subjects, through their own interpretations. As one of the advancements of science in the new way of seeing through alchemy, it also inherited all the prejudices that came before it. In a way, it replicated what has already been categorised and illustrated for e.g. the depiction of a Negritos. From journals, specimens & scientific drawings, and the backbone to physical anthropology a.k.a scientific racism— which suggested racial hierarchy of one above another, for e.g. liar to jinak (wild to tame) in the Malay kingdoms, primitive, barbarian, savagery, 生蕃 raw to 熟蕃 cook assimilation from the Ch’ing Dynasty, and colonial Japanese anthropology studies. The predicament of culture looking at culture, of the ruling regimes and of the west took these in stride, photography was another form of dominance, power and prestige. Much of these legacies are still alive and with us today in our stereotyping polities, and methodology.
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7 Orientalism– A representation of Asia in a stereotyped way that is regarded as embodying a colonialist attitude.
The exhibition theme reflects four different periods: Indigeneity, Conquest, Colonisation and Nationalism, with a subsection of post-analysis. Looking at levels of consciousness and perspectives from the different periods, emphasis was given to embody the indigenous perception to imagery. It includes oral narratives, to contemporary drawing depictions, and wood-carvings, written mainly from the perspective of indigenous groups. Even though many books have been written and documented about indigenous ways of life, they were from an outsider’s viewpoint. It is important to be aware of the author’s intention, cultural background and leanings, just as much as the subjects that are documented and the manner they are presented. Literary and similarly photographic works are perhaps the antithesis to the oral tradition and collective imagery, presenting a perspective of a singularity, rather than a collective memory.
Depiction and cultural studies by the Imperial Ch’ing Dynasty of “Taiwan’s aborigines, each showing a man and a woman with handheld local specialties or special tools. The distribution, customs, skills, annual levies”. (image source–Illustration of Tribute Missions Hsieh Sui, Ch’ien-lung reign(1736-1795), Ch’ing Dynasty. National Palace Museum, Taipei.) (https://www.npm.gov.tw/exh95/aborigines/intro_en.html)
Each book is placed into a period that reflects the consciousness of its time, and sub-grouped to reflect the social and cultural orientation. The collection mainly consists of coffee-table books, academic & personal journals, art & illustrative catalogs, documentation and photobooks. As one of the early photographers who visited the region, John Thomson was pioneering, who on his own accord and interest, travelled throughout Southeast Asia and most parts of China including Formosa (Taiwan) from 1862-1872 and authored the book, The Straits of Malacca, Indo China and China (published 1875). His photographs depicted a very different side of the Orientalist view and the experiences changed his sensitivities to the human condition. Resulting in his next publication of Street Life in London (1877) which started a new form of photography as social documentation, leading to how photography is then used as a tool for social advocacy. Two groupings that are of special interest are the post-analysis of the indigenous and the commissioned photobooks of young and unestablished photographers. These books are reflective of the age of re-analysing the structures of identity, and the use of photography as empowerment and activism.
The collection of books would hopefully provide a broader perspective & representation of a region, and the stories of its people. Bringing to light many of the legacies that we still live in from the period of indigeneity, invasion and conquest, to the social constructs of today’s nationalism. The title of the exhibition “The invisible future, facing the visible past”, takes inspiration from an indigenous concept of time, “with the future behind us, the past is in front”. Either by strengthening convictions or breaking of conventions, it hopes to aid in the perception of a forgotten past, and by recognising our origins, it can be a means to better understand ourselves and where we are heading.
right: Human Condition. John Thomson’s observations and journals are equally as important as the photographs taken and imagery depicted. “Jacoons… said to be the true aboriginal inhabitants of the land” (image source– The Straits of Malacca, Siam and Indo-China, John Thomson, pg 76-77) Wood engravings made by J. D. Cooper from John Thomson’s photograph. Before the improvement of printing techniques for photographs.
left: Activism. Help Save the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve! (image source– https://www.art4hutankita.com/about). As of today, Indigenous groups in Malaysia are still actively fighting to assert their rights to ancestral land.
The Invisible Future, Facing the Visible Past : Photobooks of Malaysia Exhibition– Through a collection of 20 photobooks, 100 extended works and 3 events, this exhibition invites its audience to dive into the intricate histories and diverse cultures of Malaysia. Following the path mapped by curators, the audience will see the changing of Malaysian society and landscape over the centuries, the situations of its people after independence, and the concerns of contemporary Malaysian artists for their country. Curated by Malaysian artists Jeffrey Lim and Bernice Chauly, this is the very first international photobook exhibition Lightbox Photo Library co-hosts. List of books are as follows—
Batin Long bin Hok’s Bés Hyang Dnèy & Jah Hut Stories – The Jah Hut are an indigenous tribe who live in central Peninsula Malaysia, primarily in the state of Pahang. In the 1970s American anthropologist Duncan Holaday went to study the language and mythology of the Jah Hut people and this book the result of that venture. There are four stories of creation as told by Batin Long bin Hok, an powerful elder and shaman of the tribe, which have been transcribed into a poetic form, along with original illustrations of these creation stories. Known to paint their faces and carve masks, the Jah Hut have no written language, as do many indigenous tribes, so this is an important record and retelling of their stories. The book also includes photographs that document the research and time spent with the tribe, along with a crucial glossary of Jah Hut words into English. These romanised phonetic words, along with their interpretation and the visualization of figures, were one of the first steps in creating images which mirrored the imagination of this tribe.
Mah Meri Sculpture & Chita’ Hae – The Mah Meri or Hma’ Meri are a coastal indigenous tribe on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia who now inhabit the island of Pulau Carey. These two books give us an insight into the culture, crafts and customs from the Mah Meri people with a focus on the ‘First Weave’ project by the women of this community along with their totemic wood sculptures, which are produced by the menfolk of this tribe, who are also mask carvers. Both books complement each other with stories and myths of ancestors (chita muyang) and the range of sculptural depictions of animals spirit guardians which are definitive of this tribe as shown in the accompanying photos, making this book an integral insight into the origins and belief systems of the Mah Meri that pervade till today. In 1958, Hoessin Enas, Assistant Protector of Aborigines in Selangor invited the Mah Meri to ‘project their feelings in wood carvings,’ and they started carving their spiritual beings into these sculptures, thus creating a tangible form to the collective imagination of this tribe.
Kinta Valley, Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development: Khoo Salma Nasution and Abdur-Razzaq Lubis – Published in 2005, this is one of the most comprehensive books on the history and development of the state of Perak, which was the world’s leader in the production of tin in the 19th and 20th centuries and a lucrative jewel in the crown of British Malaya. Tracing early history which proved that the Kinta Valley was home to Neolithic dwellers and their cave drawings and much later the center of an ancient Buddhist kingdom, the writers-cum-amateur historians’ intricate understanding on complex histories make this book an invaluable premise into the machinations between British colonial powers and the Malay rulers, the commercialization of tin, the advent of secret societies and its influence on Chinese society in Malaya and the legacy of socio-political development into modern Malaya and beyond. The photographs and images assembled in this book are meticulously sourced and displayed with great acumen and insight, rendering this book one of the most crucial to the ethnography and understanding into the creation of modern Malaysia.
The Straits of Malacca, Siam and Indo-China, Travels and Adventures of a Nineteenth-century Photographer: John Thomson – John Thomson (1837 – 1921) was a Scottish photographer who lived and travelled in the far east from 1862 to 1872, and took many photographs with an observant eye, and inquisitive mind and a sense of humour. The art of photography was a difficult and dangerous undertaking during those times, and Thomson wrote of ‘…the enormous weight of darktent, instruments and chemicals, combined with the technical difficulties of primitive processes, rendered photographic equipment a very doubtful addition…into unknown or unphotographed lands…an experiment not to be lightly undertaken…’. In August 1859, Thomson’s brother, William, travelled to Singapore where he began working as a watchmaker and photographer and within two years, John was Singapore-bound, arriving a few days before his 25th birthday and thus beginning a long love-affair with South East Asia. Albeit written from a colonial gaze, his journals carve out an intrepid sense of adventure and an indomitable spirit, along with a great curiosity about these new worlds and cultures, previously unwritten about in this manner. His wet-plate prints which he meticulously processed and developed, remain some of the most enduring images of early South East Asia. First published in 1875, this edition focuses on his journey from Penang to Singapore, Siam, Cambodia and Vietnam. His portraits of indigenous peoples, the local population and rural landscapes shaped the birth of social documentation and the beginnings of social conscience in the Victorian age.
The Spirit of Wood, The Art of Malay Woodcarving: Farish A. Noor, Eddin Khoo, David Lok – Published in 2003, this exquisite book depicts one of the most important aspects of Malay culture and civilization, the craft and cult of wood. For centuries, the craftsmen and artists of the Malay world have not only created works of art of unsurpassed beauty and aesthetic value, but have also developed a canon that is uniquely theirs. The world of Malay art and culture is one that has to be understood through a lexicon of its own semiotics, linguistics and philology that help in the decoding of the hermeneutics of this particular art form and its culture. Through their vast understanding of artistry, history and spirit or ‘semangat’ of woodcarving, Eddin Khoo and Farish A. Noor delve into the intricacies of this form and the documentation of some of its most key works and interviews with master carvers like the late Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein. With specific focus on the areas in the east coast of Kelantan, Terengganu and on the Thai borderlands of Patani, this book includes photographs of everyday objects like wood panels, doors, bed frames, hilts of the keris (Malay dagger), interiors of mosques and palaces, biscuit moulds, bird traps, tool boxes and many more objects of staggering beauty.
Malaysia, A Pictorial History 1400 – 2004: Wendy Khatijah Moore - This expansive book which features over 1,000 photographs spanning 600 years of Malaysia’s history is a testament to the rich, layered tapestry that is the Malay Peninsula and Malaysian Borneo. With lucid and cohesive narratives by Australian-born writer Wendy Khatijah Moore, the book includes the earliest images of Malayan subjects by Danish photographer K. Feilberg from the 1860s when he and partner Hermann Sachtler set up a photographic firm in Penang’s Beach Street. These images include the earliest ‘war’ images from The Great Penang Riots of 1867 when warring Chinese secret societies pitted civilians against Europeans and their Indian sepoy soldiers. These extraordinary images that portray life in the late 19th century are unprecedented in the informing of historical narratives to key events that shaped and continue to shape ordinary Malaysians. The book also features work by other pioneering photographers like G.R Lambert, John Thomson, August Kaulfuss and Charles Hose who travelled within the Malay Peninsula and Borneo who not only documented ethnic tribes but also socio-political landscapes which contributed rich narratives of a complex peoples and their culture. The images from the 20th century leading up to independence from the British in 1957 are resonant and lucid reminders of colonial restitution, the advent and aftermath of two great wars, the horrors of the Japanese Occupation, the Malayan Emergency, the riots of May 13th 1969, all contributing to a profound, necessary and crucial insight into the making of a nation.
Perak Postcards 1890s – 1940s: Abdur-Razzaq Lubis, Malcom Wade and Khoo Salma Nasution – Perak is one of the 13 states in the Federation of Malaysia and is located in the east of Peninsula Malaysia. Perak, in Malay, means ‘silver’ but ironically this state was known for its rich tin deposits, which used to be the largest and most profitable in the world. After the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, Perak came under the British as a protected Malay state, which heralded the start of British Malaya and the beginning of the notion of Empire. The Sultan, or Malay sovereign, had to accept a British Resident who was to advice of state matters, with the exception of religious and cultural concerns or ‘adat’. As more lands, tin mines and rubber plantations were opened up, resources were exported through the ports in Penang, and the ports of Port Weld and Telok Anson in Perak. Through these exports, Malaya became the richest colony in the British Empire, heralding a time of great commerce, trade and opportunity. These postcards which date back to the 1890s show a thriving community of many industries, with locals and expats living together in shared experiences that include postal works, the building of railroads and streets, schools and administrative offices, religious celebrations and tin mines, along with stunning landscapes and the earliest images of the Senoi and Temiar indigenous tribes of Perak. Of particular interest are the many images of royal elephants used for ceremonial events and transportation.
Moving Mountains, A Pictorial History of The Chinese in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur: Volume I, II and III – These series of three books document the remarkable story of the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia, specifically within the state of Selangor and the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Chinese settlers started coming to the Straits Settlements in the 1800s and in 1820 numbered around 12,000 with fewer than 1,000 in the other settlements. However, by 1860 the population of the Chinese had increased dramatically to 100,000 and several thousand to other settlements in Malaya. These were due to specific reasons that targeted trade, commerce and the rise of tin-mining communities in Perak and Selangor, but the key reason was the signing of the Sino-British Treaty of Peking in 1860, which allowed for the legal export of Chinese workers and a large number of debt-bondage coolies who were abducted and sold to labour-intensive communities. The books are structured in six chapters over three volumes: Pioneering and Institution Building, Economy and Livelihood, Education and Culture, Social Life, Religious and Customs and Political Activities. Each chapter features more than a hundred photographs, making this an extraordinary document of historical and social importance, and featuring valuable commentary on key individuals like Yap Ah Loy, Loke Yew and Yap Ah Shak, who were towkays and Kapitans who contributed to the height of Chinese wealth, power and influence from the 1870s to the 1930s. The war years feature rare photographs of civilians in volunteer armies, the rise of clan associations and the mass purge or ‘sook ching’ of Japanese troops in the killing of Chinese civilians. This is an invaluable insight into the contributions of the Chinese community in Malaysia, and the impact of the legacy of pioneering individuals in overcoming all kinds of adversity into stamping a real and concerted presence in a new land.
Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum and Stories of One Malaccan Family – The Peranakans are descendants of early Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern settlers from as early as the 15th century who married women from various parts of the Malay archipelago, which include the islands of Indonesia, and Singapore. Today, the term Peranakan is still used and those who originate from China are known as Peranakan Chinese. In Malaysia, the term Baba-Nyonya is used as an honorific for Peranakan men and women respectively. These distinct communities which were first established in Malacca, Penang and then much later in Singapore, were known as the Straits Settlements and Peranakans born during this period were referred to ‘Straits-born’. They developed a distinct culture, cuisine, customs and lifestyle, which are kept very much alive and vigorous till today. These two books, co-written by Melissa Chan, documents her family history through stories, photographs and illustrations through the eyes of her ancestors who lived from the 1860s in the same house in Malacca, through the trials and tribulations of war and occupation, marriage and death, and until the decision to transform the house into a museum in a fervent attempt to preserve and share their heritage.
Batin Long bin Hok’s Bés Hyang Dnèy & Jah Hut Stories – The Jah Hut are an indigenous tribe who live in central Peninsula Malaysia, primarily in the state of Pahang. In the 1970s American anthropologist Duncan Holaday went to study the language and mythology of the Jah Hut people and this book the result of that venture. There are four stories of creation as told by Batin Long bin Hok, an powerful elder and shaman of the tribe, which have been transcribed into a poetic form, along with original illustrations of these creation stories. Known to paint their faces and carve masks, the Jah Hut have no written language, as do many indigenous tribes, so this is an important record and retelling of their stories. The book also includes photographs that document the research and time spent with the tribe, along with a crucial glossary of Jah Hut words into English. These romanised phonetic words, along with their interpretation and the visualization of figures, were one of the first steps in creating images which mirrored the imagination of this tribe.
Mah Meri Sculpture & Chita’ Hae – The Mah Meri or Hma’ Meri are a coastal indigenous tribe on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia who now inhabit the island of Pulau Carey. These two books give us an insight into the culture, crafts and customs from the Mah Meri people with a focus on the ‘First Weave’ project by the women of this community along with their totemic wood sculptures, which are produced by the menfolk of this tribe, who are also mask carvers. Both books complement each other with stories and myths of ancestors (chita muyang) and the range of sculptural depictions of animals spirit guardians which are definitive of this tribe as shown in the accompanying photos, making this book an integral insight into the origins and belief systems of the Mah Meri that pervade till today. In 1958, Hoessin Enas, Assistant Protector of Aborigines in Selangor invited the Mah Meri to ‘project their feelings in wood carvings,’ and they started carving their spiritual beings into these sculptures, thus creating a tangible form to the collective imagination of this tribe.
Kinta Valley, Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development: Khoo Salma Nasution and Abdur-Razzaq Lubis – Published in 2005, this is one of the most comprehensive books on the history and development of the state of Perak, which was the world’s leader in the production of tin in the 19th and 20th centuries and a lucrative jewel in the crown of British Malaya. Tracing early history which proved that the Kinta Valley was home to Neolithic dwellers and their cave drawings and much later the center of an ancient Buddhist kingdom, the writers-cum-amateur historians’ intricate understanding on complex histories make this book an invaluable premise into the machinations between British colonial powers and the Malay rulers, the commercialization of tin, the advent of secret societies and its influence on Chinese society in Malaya and the legacy of socio-political development into modern Malaya and beyond. The photographs and images assembled in this book are meticulously sourced and displayed with great acumen and insight, rendering this book one of the most crucial to the ethnography and understanding into the creation of modern Malaysia.
The Straits of Malacca, Siam and Indo-China, Travels and Adventures of a Nineteenth-century Photographer: John Thomson – John Thomson (1837 – 1921) was a Scottish photographer who lived and travelled in the far east from 1862 to 1872, and took many photographs with an observant eye, and inquisitive mind and a sense of humour. The art of photography was a difficult and dangerous undertaking during those times, and Thomson wrote of ‘…the enormous weight of darktent, instruments and chemicals, combined with the technical difficulties of primitive processes, rendered photographic equipment a very doubtful addition…into unknown or unphotographed lands…an experiment not to be lightly undertaken…’. In August 1859, Thomson’s brother, William, travelled to Singapore where he began working as a watchmaker and photographer and within two years, John was Singapore-bound, arriving a few days before his 25th birthday and thus beginning a long love-affair with South East Asia. Albeit written from a colonial gaze, his journals carve out an intrepid sense of adventure and an indomitable spirit, along with a great curiosity about these new worlds and cultures, previously unwritten about in this manner. His wet-plate prints which he meticulously processed and developed, remain some of the most enduring images of early South East Asia. First published in 1875, this edition focuses on his journey from Penang to Singapore, Siam, Cambodia and Vietnam. His portraits of indigenous peoples, the local population and rural landscapes shaped the birth of social documentation and the beginnings of social conscience in the Victorian age.
The Spirit of Wood, The Art of Malay Woodcarving: Farish A. Noor, Eddin Khoo, David Lok – Published in 2003, this exquisite book depicts one of the most important aspects of Malay culture and civilization, the craft and cult of wood. For centuries, the craftsmen and artists of the Malay world have not only created works of art of unsurpassed beauty and aesthetic value, but have also developed a canon that is uniquely theirs. The world of Malay art and culture is one that has to be understood through a lexicon of its own semiotics, linguistics and philology that help in the decoding of the hermeneutics of this particular art form and its culture. Through their vast understanding of artistry, history and spirit or ‘semangat’ of woodcarving, Eddin Khoo and Farish A. Noor delve into the intricacies of this form and the documentation of some of its most key works and interviews with master carvers like the late Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein. With specific focus on the areas in the east coast of Kelantan, Terengganu and on the Thai borderlands of Patani, this book includes photographs of everyday objects like wood panels, doors, bed frames, hilts of the keris (Malay dagger), interiors of mosques and palaces, biscuit moulds, bird traps, tool boxes and many more objects of staggering beauty.
Malaysia, A Pictorial History 1400 – 2004: Wendy Khatijah Moore - This expansive book which features over 1,000 photographs spanning 600 years of Malaysia’s history is a testament to the rich, layered tapestry that is the Malay Peninsula and Malaysian Borneo. With lucid and cohesive narratives by Australian-born writer Wendy Khatijah Moore, the book includes the earliest images of Malayan subjects by Danish photographer K. Feilberg from the 1860s when he and partner Hermann Sachtler set up a photographic firm in Penang’s Beach Street. These images include the earliest ‘war’ images from The Great Penang Riots of 1867 when warring Chinese secret societies pitted civilians against Europeans and their Indian sepoy soldiers. These extraordinary images that portray life in the late 19th century are unprecedented in the informing of historical narratives to key events that shaped and continue to shape ordinary Malaysians. The book also features work by other pioneering photographers like G.R Lambert, John Thomson, August Kaulfuss and Charles Hose who travelled within the Malay Peninsula and Borneo who not only documented ethnic tribes but also socio-political landscapes which contributed rich narratives of a complex peoples and their culture. The images from the 20th century leading up to independence from the British in 1957 are resonant and lucid reminders of colonial restitution, the advent and aftermath of two great wars, the horrors of the Japanese Occupation, the Malayan Emergency, the riots of May 13th 1969, all contributing to a profound, necessary and crucial insight into the making of a nation.
Perak Postcards 1890s – 1940s: Abdur-Razzaq Lubis, Malcom Wade and Khoo Salma Nasution – Perak is one of the 13 states in the Federation of Malaysia and is located in the east of Peninsula Malaysia. Perak, in Malay, means ‘silver’ but ironically this state was known for its rich tin deposits, which used to be the largest and most profitable in the world. After the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, Perak came under the British as a protected Malay state, which heralded the start of British Malaya and the beginning of the notion of Empire. The Sultan, or Malay sovereign, had to accept a British Resident who was to advice of state matters, with the exception of religious and cultural concerns or ‘adat’. As more lands, tin mines and rubber plantations were opened up, resources were exported through the ports in Penang, and the ports of Port Weld and Telok Anson in Perak. Through these exports, Malaya became the richest colony in the British Empire, heralding a time of great commerce, trade and opportunity. These postcards which date back to the 1890s show a thriving community of many industries, with locals and expats living together in shared experiences that include postal works, the building of railroads and streets, schools and administrative offices, religious celebrations and tin mines, along with stunning landscapes and the earliest images of the Senoi and Temiar indigenous tribes of Perak. Of particular interest are the many images of royal elephants used for ceremonial events and transportation.
Moving Mountains, A Pictorial History of The Chinese in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur: Volume I, II and III – These series of three books document the remarkable story of the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia, specifically within the state of Selangor and the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Chinese settlers started coming to the Straits Settlements in the 1800s and in 1820 numbered around 12,000 with fewer than 1,000 in the other settlements. However, by 1860 the population of the Chinese had increased dramatically to 100,000 and several thousand to other settlements in Malaya. These were due to specific reasons that targeted trade, commerce and the rise of tin-mining communities in Perak and Selangor, but the key reason was the signing of the Sino-British Treaty of Peking in 1860, which allowed for the legal export of Chinese workers and a large number of debt-bondage coolies who were abducted and sold to labour-intensive communities. The books are structured in six chapters over three volumes: Pioneering and Institution Building, Economy and Livelihood, Education and Culture, Social Life, Religious and Customs and Political Activities. Each chapter features more than a hundred photographs, making this an extraordinary document of historical and social importance, and featuring valuable commentary on key individuals like Yap Ah Loy, Loke Yew and Yap Ah Shak, who were towkays and Kapitans who contributed to the height of Chinese wealth, power and influence from the 1870s to the 1930s. The war years feature rare photographs of civilians in volunteer armies, the rise of clan associations and the mass purge or ‘sook ching’ of Japanese troops in the killing of Chinese civilians. This is an invaluable insight into the contributions of the Chinese community in Malaysia, and the impact of the legacy of pioneering individuals in overcoming all kinds of adversity into stamping a real and concerted presence in a new land.
Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum and Stories of One Malaccan Family – The Peranakans are descendants of early Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern settlers from as early as the 15th century who married women from various parts of the Malay archipelago, which include the islands of Indonesia, and Singapore. Today, the term Peranakan is still used and those who originate from China are known as Peranakan Chinese. In Malaysia, the term Baba-Nyonya is used as an honorific for Peranakan men and women respectively. These distinct communities which were first established in Malacca, Penang and then much later in Singapore, were known as the Straits Settlements and Peranakans born during this period were referred to ‘Straits-born’. They developed a distinct culture, cuisine, customs and lifestyle, which are kept very much alive and vigorous till today. These two books, co-written by Melissa Chan, documents her family history through stories, photographs and illustrations through the eyes of her ancestors who lived from the 1860s in the same house in Malacca, through the trials and tribulations of war and occupation, marriage and death, and until the decision to transform the house into a museum in a fervent attempt to preserve and share their heritage.
Vanishing World: K.F. Wong, Leigh Wright, Hedda Morrison – Photographed by K.F. Wong and Hedda Morrison and narrated by Leigh Wright, this wonderful exploration and expansion of Iban life is richly depicted within its pages. Published in the early 70s, the photographs depict a primarily male gaze at the womenfolk, and a romanticized notion of an idyllic time of life in Iban villages, but it also attempts to purport the complex historical unraveling of the Dayak and its peoples. In colour and black and white, these photographs show a vast forest populated by the Iban, and reflects upon a way of life that is slowly vanishing as development encroaches into the interior of the Bornean rainforest - now known to be older than that of the Amazon - and a sociological reckoning of the brutal and barbaric tradition of headhunting. The accompanying text is also indicative of the ‘outsider’ and is written in a telling way for the Western palate. In spite of these shortcomings, it is a compelling narrative and pictorial depiction of its time, and of the rich and layered life of the Iban, who continue to struggle with tradition and modernity, and of a world that is close to vanishing.
Life in a Longhouse: Hedda Morrison – First published in 1962, these images taken by German-born photographer Hedda Morrison document the day-to-day life in a longhouse of the Iban, who are the largest tribe in the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. Taken primarily in ‘Rumah Garu’, or Garu’s House in the area of Kanowit, these black and white photos feature everyday life with great clarity and detail. Morrison lived in Sarawak for more than 20 years and started taking photographs from 1951 onwards. From women weaving mats to men getting tattoos, a ‘manang’ or witch doctor chanting spells and conducting a healing ceremony, to the intricate process of weaving the ‘pua kumbu’ or ritual cloth, to farming padi or rice, these images capture the alacrity of life in the jungle. The importance of tribal rituals and festivities are portrayed, along with written commentary in English, Iban, Chinese and Malay. This is a significant record of photographs and texts, which continues to have tremendous resonance for many about a way life that no longer exists.
HRH Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah: Pioneering Malaysian Photography (1923 – 1971) – *Sultan Ismail (*Muslim sovereign) was born in 1907 and was the third son of the 11th Sultan of Terengganu, a sultanate in the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Then, Terengganu was a vassal state of Siam but became a protectorate of Great Britain under the Anglo-Siamese treaty of 1909. Sultan Ismail became the 15th Sultan in 1945 but had already been an avid photographer in his teens and early 20s. His work until his death in 1979 documented the people and seaside landscapes of his beloved Terengganu, in the daily lives of his subjects, and also key moments with significant figures in Malaysian history. His photographs demonstrate a stark understanding of composition and light, modernism and pictorialism, along with inspired philosophies from Western and Japanese masters of the 20s and 30s. Sultan Ismail was a purist in many ways, and also enjoyed processing and printing his own work in the darkroom. This book, written and curated by the photographer’s grandson, Raja Ihsan Shah, is an enduring testament to one of the country’s most important photographers, and the legacy of a prince who loved nothing more than to be armed with a camera photographing his loyal subjects.
The Merdeka Interviews: Architects, Engineers and Artists of Malaysia’s Independence – When Malaysia became independent of the British in 1957, the notion of the end of Empire contributed to a flurry of artistic prowess in the desire to find an identity in architecture. As the capital of this new nation, Kuala Lumpur became a worthy canvas for many young architects who sought to redefine a sense of independence within the spirit of ‘Merdeka’ through a reconnecting of the past and its erasure of certain historic buildings and the desire to create. The iconic buildings featured in this mammoth book – Subang Airport, Masjid Negara (National Mosque), Parliament House, Muzium Negara (National Museum), National Monument, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Language and Literature Agency), Stadium Negara and Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium and National Stadium) and KL Technical College -- are depicted from idea to page with painstaking detail and interviews with architects like Kington Loo, Hisham Albakri, engineers and artists/muralists like Waveny Jenkins and Cheong Laitong, and the engineers who envisioned these buildings. An endearing feature of this book is the chapter on the ‘kongsi women’ or Chinese female labourers who not only worked on these buildings but who became an indelible force in the construction of a new nation.
Mahathir: Epitome of a Statesman – Without a doubt, Mahathir Mohamed remains one of Malaysia’s most controversial names, having been known as the dictatorial yet visionary Prime Minister of Malaysia who ruled from 1980 for 22 years, and then again from 2018 until the political coup of February 2020 which ousted him and his government. At 95 years old, Mahathir is still involved in politics, making him the oldest statesman in the world, and the founder of a new political party. This book recounts the personal and political life of this charismatic man, with candid snapshots of his family, depicting his role as a father and husband, as an acute and ruthless politician, and leader of a developing nation. Modern Malaysia will forever be linked with the name Mahathir Mohamed, and this book offers a keen insight into a man who made Malaysia, who broke it, who then tried to rebuild it and failed, and who continues to believe in the possibility of redemption, along with his vision, and the dream of a developed and thriving nation.
Born in Malaysia: A Photographer’s Journey (Kenny Loh) – This book is a celebration of Malaysians who span generations of artisans, folk practitioners, bakers, cooks, indigenous peoples, fishermen, musicians, traders of all kinds, children and more. Photographer Kenny Loh spent two decades living abroad and decided to traverse the length and breadth of Peninsula Malaysia and Borneo upon his return in search of people who make this land their home. With intimate portraits taken in homes and places of work, this tapestry of Malaysian faces is an enduring testament to the bloodlines and fates that tie this nation to the land and its bounty. This book is a labour of love, a leap of faith into an unknown journey, and an honest pursuit of what makes the ordinary extraordinary, and a truly gratifying insight into the lives of everyday Malaysians and the land that they love.
Ismail Hashim: Essays, Interviews & Archives – Born in 1940, Ismail Hashim was introduced to art by his father and went on to study at universities in Penang, Manchester and Washington State with degrees in education and graphic design. He became the director of the Centre of the Arts in at his alma mater Universiti Sains Malaysia and went on to elevate the status of photography as a form of fine art in the country. Widely acknowledged as the most studied contemporary photographer of his generation, Ismail Hashim’s hand-tinted silver gelatin prints with their rich detail, irony and humour, captured beauty in the everyday, in objects, still life and landscapes, exploring complex issues of time and space, of memory and loss. His untimely death in 2013 left a gaping hole in contemporary Malaysian art, and a retrospective of his work was curated and exhibited in Kuala Lumpur, Unpack-Repack A Tribute to Ismail Hashim (1940 – 2013) to critical acclaim in 2014.
Malaysian Indigenous Youth in the City (COAC) – Produced by COAC (Center for Orang Asli Concerns) and curated by its founder Colin Nicholas, this is a rare glimpse into the lives of indigenous youth who have had to make the bold migration to the city of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s indigenous tribes have lived as nomads on their ancestral lands for generations but encroaching development and illegal logging have forced many to look to the city for survival. This book features the work of eight photographers from three different tribes – Temuan, Semelai and Kadazandusun - who were taught by Magnum photographer Simon Wheatly on the intricacies of handling a camera for the first time. The result is a series of intimate images of these communities at work, at play and at rest, all the while straddling poverty and marginalization, poor housing and labour conditions. This compelling insight into the lives of the real ‘bumiputera’ or sons of the soil, is a telling reminder that inequality and division are still pervasive among indigenous communities and the struggle for survival in the city is not a choice, but a last resort.
Fluid World: Yee I-Lann – Arguably one of Malaysia’s foremost contemporary female artists, Sabah-born Yee I-Lann made her mark in the 2000s with seminal work in Horizon (2003) and Sulu Stories (2005), which are a series of photo collages inspired by the seas that surround her birthplace of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. A graduate of the University of South Australia, Yee’s work explores her dual identities of being Chinese and European through the landscape of her youth, presenting a formidable and penetrating study of myth, legend and history. This book spans a collection of work done over 17 years, including compelling essays by noted Malaysians and an insightful foreward by curator Beverly Yong. Yee has since exhibited widely and is represented by major galleries worldwide. She continues to work with new mediums like batik and weaving and is now collaborating with indigenous craftspeople in Sabah. Yee continues to demonstrate her ability to evolve as a visual artist and is an inspiration to many who know and respect her work.
Bound For Glory: Wong Hoy Cheong – Born in George Town, Penang, Wong Hoy Cheong is one of Malaysia’s most successful contemporary artists, having achieved international acclaim and recognition in his work that spans drawing, installation, video/photography and theatre/ performance. His work has been characterized by its engagement with history and the forces and phenomena that have shaped Malaysians and our reading of histories, specifically in the post-colonial, migrant history, socio-political makeup and its crises of identity. This series of stunning photographs examines a psycho-social fabric and a wider understanding of a visceral and sensorial response to dark, criminal undertones in the re-telling/staging of real events in recent history. The questions asked in this series are quite pointedly astute – Where are we (as Malaysians) going? What are we bound for?
Simryn Gill: Standing Still – Singapore-born artist and photographer Simryn Gill currently lives in Australia, but spent many years growing up in Malaysia and this is the subject of this collection of photographs. Standing Still looks very specifically at development projects which were abandoned before completion and crumbling into the humid tropical landscape. Taken over a period of three years between 2000 and 2003, these images were taken in small and large towns all over Malaysia where some buildings date back to pre-independence from the British, and some are more recently abandoned. The work asks of the audience to recall these older structures, which once supported life and rotting new ones which were never quite completed - “A place in time, where one might say, the past lies in ruins, unkempt and untended and the future also somehow abandoned and has started to crumble”. The artist worked with saturated colour film, then easily available in photo shops, with the intention to shift the pictures from the nostalgia and melancholy of the subject matter to the idea of decay and time falling into disrepair.
Life in a Longhouse: Hedda Morrison – First published in 1962, these images taken by German-born photographer Hedda Morrison document the day-to-day life in a longhouse of the Iban, who are the largest tribe in the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. Taken primarily in ‘Rumah Garu’, or Garu’s House in the area of Kanowit, these black and white photos feature everyday life with great clarity and detail. Morrison lived in Sarawak for more than 20 years and started taking photographs from 1951 onwards. From women weaving mats to men getting tattoos, a ‘manang’ or witch doctor chanting spells and conducting a healing ceremony, to the intricate process of weaving the ‘pua kumbu’ or ritual cloth, to farming padi or rice, these images capture the alacrity of life in the jungle. The importance of tribal rituals and festivities are portrayed, along with written commentary in English, Iban, Chinese and Malay. This is a significant record of photographs and texts, which continues to have tremendous resonance for many about a way life that no longer exists.
HRH Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah: Pioneering Malaysian Photography (1923 – 1971) – *Sultan Ismail (*Muslim sovereign) was born in 1907 and was the third son of the 11th Sultan of Terengganu, a sultanate in the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Then, Terengganu was a vassal state of Siam but became a protectorate of Great Britain under the Anglo-Siamese treaty of 1909. Sultan Ismail became the 15th Sultan in 1945 but had already been an avid photographer in his teens and early 20s. His work until his death in 1979 documented the people and seaside landscapes of his beloved Terengganu, in the daily lives of his subjects, and also key moments with significant figures in Malaysian history. His photographs demonstrate a stark understanding of composition and light, modernism and pictorialism, along with inspired philosophies from Western and Japanese masters of the 20s and 30s. Sultan Ismail was a purist in many ways, and also enjoyed processing and printing his own work in the darkroom. This book, written and curated by the photographer’s grandson, Raja Ihsan Shah, is an enduring testament to one of the country’s most important photographers, and the legacy of a prince who loved nothing more than to be armed with a camera photographing his loyal subjects.
The Merdeka Interviews: Architects, Engineers and Artists of Malaysia’s Independence – When Malaysia became independent of the British in 1957, the notion of the end of Empire contributed to a flurry of artistic prowess in the desire to find an identity in architecture. As the capital of this new nation, Kuala Lumpur became a worthy canvas for many young architects who sought to redefine a sense of independence within the spirit of ‘Merdeka’ through a reconnecting of the past and its erasure of certain historic buildings and the desire to create. The iconic buildings featured in this mammoth book – Subang Airport, Masjid Negara (National Mosque), Parliament House, Muzium Negara (National Museum), National Monument, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Language and Literature Agency), Stadium Negara and Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium and National Stadium) and KL Technical College -- are depicted from idea to page with painstaking detail and interviews with architects like Kington Loo, Hisham Albakri, engineers and artists/muralists like Waveny Jenkins and Cheong Laitong, and the engineers who envisioned these buildings. An endearing feature of this book is the chapter on the ‘kongsi women’ or Chinese female labourers who not only worked on these buildings but who became an indelible force in the construction of a new nation.
Mahathir: Epitome of a Statesman – Without a doubt, Mahathir Mohamed remains one of Malaysia’s most controversial names, having been known as the dictatorial yet visionary Prime Minister of Malaysia who ruled from 1980 for 22 years, and then again from 2018 until the political coup of February 2020 which ousted him and his government. At 95 years old, Mahathir is still involved in politics, making him the oldest statesman in the world, and the founder of a new political party. This book recounts the personal and political life of this charismatic man, with candid snapshots of his family, depicting his role as a father and husband, as an acute and ruthless politician, and leader of a developing nation. Modern Malaysia will forever be linked with the name Mahathir Mohamed, and this book offers a keen insight into a man who made Malaysia, who broke it, who then tried to rebuild it and failed, and who continues to believe in the possibility of redemption, along with his vision, and the dream of a developed and thriving nation.
Born in Malaysia: A Photographer’s Journey (Kenny Loh) – This book is a celebration of Malaysians who span generations of artisans, folk practitioners, bakers, cooks, indigenous peoples, fishermen, musicians, traders of all kinds, children and more. Photographer Kenny Loh spent two decades living abroad and decided to traverse the length and breadth of Peninsula Malaysia and Borneo upon his return in search of people who make this land their home. With intimate portraits taken in homes and places of work, this tapestry of Malaysian faces is an enduring testament to the bloodlines and fates that tie this nation to the land and its bounty. This book is a labour of love, a leap of faith into an unknown journey, and an honest pursuit of what makes the ordinary extraordinary, and a truly gratifying insight into the lives of everyday Malaysians and the land that they love.
Ismail Hashim: Essays, Interviews & Archives – Born in 1940, Ismail Hashim was introduced to art by his father and went on to study at universities in Penang, Manchester and Washington State with degrees in education and graphic design. He became the director of the Centre of the Arts in at his alma mater Universiti Sains Malaysia and went on to elevate the status of photography as a form of fine art in the country. Widely acknowledged as the most studied contemporary photographer of his generation, Ismail Hashim’s hand-tinted silver gelatin prints with their rich detail, irony and humour, captured beauty in the everyday, in objects, still life and landscapes, exploring complex issues of time and space, of memory and loss. His untimely death in 2013 left a gaping hole in contemporary Malaysian art, and a retrospective of his work was curated and exhibited in Kuala Lumpur, Unpack-Repack A Tribute to Ismail Hashim (1940 – 2013) to critical acclaim in 2014.
Malaysian Indigenous Youth in the City (COAC) – Produced by COAC (Center for Orang Asli Concerns) and curated by its founder Colin Nicholas, this is a rare glimpse into the lives of indigenous youth who have had to make the bold migration to the city of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s indigenous tribes have lived as nomads on their ancestral lands for generations but encroaching development and illegal logging have forced many to look to the city for survival. This book features the work of eight photographers from three different tribes – Temuan, Semelai and Kadazandusun - who were taught by Magnum photographer Simon Wheatly on the intricacies of handling a camera for the first time. The result is a series of intimate images of these communities at work, at play and at rest, all the while straddling poverty and marginalization, poor housing and labour conditions. This compelling insight into the lives of the real ‘bumiputera’ or sons of the soil, is a telling reminder that inequality and division are still pervasive among indigenous communities and the struggle for survival in the city is not a choice, but a last resort.
Fluid World: Yee I-Lann – Arguably one of Malaysia’s foremost contemporary female artists, Sabah-born Yee I-Lann made her mark in the 2000s with seminal work in Horizon (2003) and Sulu Stories (2005), which are a series of photo collages inspired by the seas that surround her birthplace of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. A graduate of the University of South Australia, Yee’s work explores her dual identities of being Chinese and European through the landscape of her youth, presenting a formidable and penetrating study of myth, legend and history. This book spans a collection of work done over 17 years, including compelling essays by noted Malaysians and an insightful foreward by curator Beverly Yong. Yee has since exhibited widely and is represented by major galleries worldwide. She continues to work with new mediums like batik and weaving and is now collaborating with indigenous craftspeople in Sabah. Yee continues to demonstrate her ability to evolve as a visual artist and is an inspiration to many who know and respect her work.
Bound For Glory: Wong Hoy Cheong – Born in George Town, Penang, Wong Hoy Cheong is one of Malaysia’s most successful contemporary artists, having achieved international acclaim and recognition in his work that spans drawing, installation, video/photography and theatre/ performance. His work has been characterized by its engagement with history and the forces and phenomena that have shaped Malaysians and our reading of histories, specifically in the post-colonial, migrant history, socio-political makeup and its crises of identity. This series of stunning photographs examines a psycho-social fabric and a wider understanding of a visceral and sensorial response to dark, criminal undertones in the re-telling/staging of real events in recent history. The questions asked in this series are quite pointedly astute – Where are we (as Malaysians) going? What are we bound for?
Simryn Gill: Standing Still – Singapore-born artist and photographer Simryn Gill currently lives in Australia, but spent many years growing up in Malaysia and this is the subject of this collection of photographs. Standing Still looks very specifically at development projects which were abandoned before completion and crumbling into the humid tropical landscape. Taken over a period of three years between 2000 and 2003, these images were taken in small and large towns all over Malaysia where some buildings date back to pre-independence from the British, and some are more recently abandoned. The work asks of the audience to recall these older structures, which once supported life and rotting new ones which were never quite completed - “A place in time, where one might say, the past lies in ruins, unkempt and untended and the future also somehow abandoned and has started to crumble”. The artist worked with saturated colour film, then easily available in photo shops, with the intention to shift the pictures from the nostalgia and melancholy of the subject matter to the idea of decay and time falling into disrepair.
<image- face of the camera, frame sizes 3.5 x 5.5” / 4 x 5”, kanta / lens in malay>
The Invisible Future, Facing the Visible Past– Jeffrey Lim 林猷進. Exhibition essay first published october 2020. Printed version may 2023. Lightbox Photo Library - Lightbox 攝影圖書室, Taipei, Taiwan.
All mentioned images © 2023 Jeffrey Lim, Kuala Lumpur & Published books.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
All mentioned images © 2023 Jeffrey Lim, Kuala Lumpur & Published books.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
The Invisible Future, Facing the Visible Past: Photobooks of Malaysia Exhibition– Through a collection of 20 photobooks, 100 extended works and 3 events, this exhibition invited its audience to dive into the intricate histories and diverse cultures of Malaysia.
Following the path mapped by curators, the audience will see the changing of Malaysian society and landscape over the centuries, the situations of its people after independence, and the concerns of contemporary Malaysian artists for their country.
Curated by Malaysian artists Jeffrey Lim and Bernice Chauly, this is the very first international photobook exhibition Lightbox Photo Library co-hosts.
Following the path mapped by curators, the audience will see the changing of Malaysian society and landscape over the centuries, the situations of its people after independence, and the concerns of contemporary Malaysian artists for their country.
Curated by Malaysian artists Jeffrey Lim and Bernice Chauly, this is the very first international photobook exhibition Lightbox Photo Library co-hosts.
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