KUALA LUMPUR – Celebrating storytelling through photography and expanding the development of visual literacy, Exposure+ Photo showcases vivid interpretations of the theme ‘Belong’. This is made possible by 11 Malaysia-based photographers and creatives whose proposed projects were shortlisted from an open call in February 2021.
Initiated by programme founders Steven Lee and Nadirah Zakariya, the photographic artworks are being displayed in eight exhibition and social venues across the city. Organisers are encouraging visitors to explore the results together.
Works are by photographers Aisha Nazar, Balqis Tajalli, Catherhea Potjanaporn, Firdaus Herrow, Kelvin Mah Wai Chong, Kelvin Ah Kian, Lim Tze Yan, Lu Ruo Ling, Patricia Krivanek, Sitis and Vaneesha Krishnasamy.
“'I’m every woman’ is a celebration despite the violation, missed opportunities and prejudices that womenkind, particularly Dravidian, endure over time,” said Vaneesha Krishnasamy during the launch. Dravidians are an ethnolinguistic group of Indian and Eelam descent, who predominantly speak either Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam or Kannada.
“In Malaysia, our works and efforts are not necessarily being celebrated widely in the spaces we are in.
According to Vaneesha, the series of photographs from her collection is “…a tribute to the women of yesterday, celebrated through the everyday women of today.
“They reap the fruits of seeds sowed in the past, while planting more for the women of tomorrow.”
In her collection brief she continued to echo: “Through generations of deeply rooted patriarchy and misogyny that stifled the voices and took away the freedom of Dravidian women and femme-presenting people, they persevered with strength and resilience helping pave a better way for generations after them.”
“I am not a photographer by general understanding, but I do dabble in the alternative photography process,” noted Balqis Tajalli.
“In ‘My Neighbour, the Weeds’, I utilised a process called cyanotype blueprinting to showcase the abundance of plants that you can find in Langkawi especially during January. I wanted to show the greenery beyond paddy fields that could be found within the locality of my neighbourhood – the wild gardens.
“For me, it is a personal story to fall back into nature and learn about the lessons on resilience as portrayed by the environment surrounding me.
Depicting the isolation during a pandemic that crippled the world, a Canadian-Mexican who is based in Kuala Lumpur took the initiative to document the motherhood experience.
Among other photography projects featured include ‘Along the Shorelines’ by Kelvin Ah Kian which documents the coastal imageries of Labuan, ‘Alam’ by Firdaus Herrow on nature as a reassuring and sedative sanctuary, ‘S(kin)’ by Sitis on how we transition between the phases of our growth with an emphasis on the cloak (human skin) that guards us and ‘Unprecedented Time’ by Ruo Ling Lu which conceptually details what it's like to be stuck in a time where no one wants to be in.
*The series includes close-ups of subjects to include their scars, tattoos, and body modifications, in a voyeuristic, unorthodox and deviant manner.
Exposure+ Photo ending tomorrow also highlights work by five other internationally-based photographers, Anouchka Renaud-eck, Etinossa Yvonne, Raz Talhar, Ritsuko Matsushita and Yoshi Okamoto.
Those interested to view the finished works of Exposure+ Photo can visit the following venues: GMBB community mall, Rex KL, High Street Studio (HSS), Kloe hotel, Lullaby, LOKL and LOT18 Art Gallery. Additionally, you can visit the satellite venue Zon Toga for those residing in Petaling Jaya. – The Vibes, March 11, 2022
