The Monsoon
At the end of the every year, the monsoon arrives like clockwork, carrying with it heavy waves of rain that crashed against the east coast of peninsula Malaysia. Life comes to a halt as a sign of respect, and the world falls silent.
Fishermen would mend their nets while staring at the horizon, wondering when she would relent. The thin invisible line speaks of man’s ancient, long-lost rela- tionship with the elements.
Living in the city, the landscape is governed by concrete, unnatural construct of vertical lines.
The Series
‘Portraits of a monsoon’ is an ongoing project documenting the many temperaments of the monsoon. Using a vintage analogue camera, I photographed the turmoil and calmness of the sea at it gradually changed, without moving the camera.
The white vertical lines are the result of overlapping exposures, by only partially advancing the film with every frame, creating a seamless photograph that is not unlike the many frames of a reel of motion picture film.
‘Roll 7’ (Pigment ink on archival paper, 800cm x 73cm)
A closer look at the work, showing how each frame blends into the next, creating the illusion of a panorama.
A full description of the work is available here.
2014 ‘Beyond Borders’ – Vallette Gallery (Kuala Lumpur)
2017 ‘No Man’s Land’ – National Art Gallery (Kuala Lumpur)
Mahen Bala 