Stories from Malaysia
My project, titled Longing and Belonging, is primarily interested in understanding the relationship between people and railway heritage in contemporary Southeast Asia and Japan. Between December 2019 and February 2020, I was based in Java, Indonesia. This is a brief report written for the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur Newsletter 'Teman Baru' Issue 112, July - …
Continue reading "Longing and Belonging in Java (JFKL Newsletter)"
Questions and answers from an interview with an online and print magazine on my work in Kuala Lumpur. 1. Have you always lived in KL? Actually no, I grew up by the beach in Kuantan, far away on the other side of the TItiwangsa Range. All though my schooling years, Kuala Lumpur was like a dream. …
Text from my brief presentation at a Virtual Reality (VR) Masterclass at the inaugural Taylor's University Film Festival (TUFF) 20 November 2019. Many thanks to Taylor's University and Ministry XR for the invite. ***** Sunday morning cartoons. Do you remember sitting in front of the tv while having breakfast? Do you also remember your mother …
My first encounter with the residential complex had been accidental, stumbling upon it while tracing the Kerayong River from its source to confluence as part of a documentary project on Klang Valley's river network. The second visit was to photograph the area, and by the third visit, all the blocks had been demolished. The residents …
A forest has no history. It remembers no beginning, follows no moral, worships no God. Trees fall and sprout anew, rivers flood and dry out, animals kill and then they themselves die, all part of a perpetual state of unguided renewal. Churning itself anew for more than 130 million years, Taman Negara is a 4,343 …
For the past six months I've been working on developing a Virtual Reality(VR) multimedia project titled "Elders of Our Forest". The project uses photographs, film, text, sound, and interactivity to create an immersive experience of being deep within the Malaysian tropical rainforest. The first two components focused on the Royal Belum State Park and the …
Strive not to live with nature, but to be embrace our place within it. A recent assignment brought me to Kampung Pinggan Jaya, Kuching to look at the community ran gula apong industry. For Pak Mahli, work is a daily ritual of slipping into his yellow gum boots and strapping a can of burning mosquito …
Quite happy with my recent purchase of a small booklet of prints from the weekend flea market. I was only interested in the first 7 or so photographs but there was no way to purchase them without tearing the booklet. The negatives were unfortunately nowhere to be found. One booth had a small box of empty …
Mahen Bala 