Women Photographers Malaysia (WPM) is beginning the brand new 12 months on the entrance foot with Strength, a bunch pictures exhibition which is at the moment displaying at the Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre (PJPac).
Featuring the work of 21 ladies photographers, the exhibition follows WPM’s ahead momentum, which noticed it collaborating in the annual Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival final month.
Strength is WPM’s first standalone exhibition.
An open name was held a 12 months in the past, with the exhibition initially deliberate for March 2021, throughout the International Women’s Day month. But the pandemic threw a spanner in the works and it was postponed.
“Strength is an initiative that implores women photographers to embark upon a journey of discovery through a sea of avenues from which courage and perseverance can be found through visual interpretation.
Aisha Nazar’s ‘The Monk’ captures a young scholar-monk with a large flask of Tibetan sweet tea heading to the daily philosophical debates held at the adjacent courtyard. Photo: Aisha Nazar
“We are incredibly excited that after a solid year of postponement, we are finally able to see this exhibition come to fruition,” says Annice Lyn, a visible artist, documentary and sports activities photographer, who’s a co-founder of WPM.Fellow WPM co-founders embody Aisha Nazar and Carol Yong.
This neighborhood group, which was established in March 2020, goals to create an area the place concepts will be nurtured, and assist given, in pursuit of a ardour for visible storytelling.WPM’s first showcase Her.Perspective was a part of the web Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival in August 2020.
In-person exhibition
The Strength exhibition, which is going on at PJPac’s gallery area, highlights 21 curated pictures revolving across the theme of power, demonstrating totally different interpretations and spanning genres equivalent to documentary, portrait, industrial, conceptual, photojournalist, hobbyist, household and wedding ceremony pictures.
“For both Aisha and I as co-founders, as well as the WPM community, we all saw our lives change in the blink of an eye during these challenging (two) years of the global pandemic, and yet we always find ourselves emerging stronger than ever as we put our best foot forward with refreshed ideas, motivations and new-found courage.
“Holistically, a photo may be something to look at or swipe through, but the best images speak a thousand words and encompass many different realities,” says Lyn.
In Strength, the depiction of human interactions in households is a recurring imagery, a steadfast reminder that household and family members generally is a circle of power that may see us by way of a disaster.
SueAnne Koh’s ‘Refugee Baby For Sale’. In a refugee slum in Malaysia, a grandmother holds tightly to her 10-month-old grandchild who’s being provided on the market to a stranger by the daddy resulting from poverty. This {photograph} was later gifted to the household as the primary and perhaps the final {photograph} taken of the duo. Photo: SueAnne Koh
“We see the exhibition as an opportunity to use it for good. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to exhibit, and getting to share it with 21 talented women photographers definitely makes it far more special.
“Aisha and I believe it is crucial to create a community of women photographers, as it provides a direct female perspective and in turn shapes how society views women. Be it a hobby or a profession, and across domains from photojournalism to fashion photography, it’s important to have – and document – a female perspective.
“WPM hopes to continue to encourage a growing sector of women photographers by bridging the gender gap that fosters the development of women representation in the photographic industry and visual culture,” she provides.
Running concurrently with Strength is self-taught photographer Lydia Ho’s My Home My Playground showcase. Ho’s monochrome collection was captured throughout final 12 months’s nationwide MCO. There might be an artist speak on Jan 8 (11am).
On Jan 9 (3pm), WPM and Sony Malaysia will host a “Creative Portrait” workshop carried out by vogue photographer Raisa Azzam. In this workshop, study hands-on methods for pictures, create portraits and immerse your self in the artwork of storytelling. This is a ticketed occasion (RM50) that’s open to everybody. Registration required.
The Strength exhibition, which ends on Jan 16, is supported by Canon Malaysia and venue associate PJPAC.
More information here.
