Photography – mySELF, myFAMILY, myTOWN

The project commenced with a series of skill training workshops that introduced students to digital photography and photo editing using computers, through simple hands-on tasks such as making their own name tags and making postcards using images they had taken with the digital camera. Through this exercise, they practiced basic photography skills such as framing, angles, distance, levels, focus, light sources, and composition. They also learned to insert text over the images.

The project was divided into three phases beginning with a photographic documentation of themselves, then of their families, and then of the town or village where they lived. They also had to interview members of their family and the community they belonged to, as part of the documentation process. The expected outcomes were three sets of computer generated photo-essays (one on each topic) by each participant:

•  mySELF: a 3-D photographic sculpture
•  myFAMILY: a photographic triptych which included a family tree and a family history
•  myTOWN: illustrated town maps and photo-essays of heritage sites, people or trades in their town or village

Research and documentation for each theme was completed within a span of approximately one week. Each theme generated one output in the form of a thematic photo essay. Students worked in pairs and groups, travelling on foot and on bicycles.

Additionally, research or inquiry was also carried out via primary (photography, interviews, sketching) and secondary (maps, articles, old photos) source research. Students then proceeded to use photography to capture images which best represented each of these themes. Multiple photos were taken on each theme; including spaces, activities, objects, people, etc. This was followed by painstaking data processing which comprised of the selection, composition, and editing of relevant images and titles.

They were required to select only the most relevant photographs to create meaning, as well as provide titles and accompanying text. This rigorous editing process, which amounted to several rounds of selection, sharpened their observation and aesthetic skills, as well as demanded that they think carefully about what they wanted to convey. Participants were encouraged to incorporate sketches, flow charts, family tree diagrams, and written narratives into their creative works.

The creative outputs were showcased in the local public library and in schools, as well as at the Old District and Land Office of Balik Pulau and at the USM ABN-AMRO Arts & Culture Centre.

•  In the mySELF segment, children focused on personal space, personal objects, hobbies, practices, etc. This exercise was only in photographic format and was arranged as a photographic sculpture in the shape of a 3-D lantern. 

•  The myFAMILY segment broadened the focus of the children to include their entire family unit, covering four aspects of family life: occupation of parents, family beliefs, family home, and family portraits. Some children went on to research their family tree and to interview the older generation on their early migration history. The final creative outputs were photographic assemblage, essays, autobiographies, as well as diagrams.

•  In the myTOWN segment, children selected and studied a specific cultural asset in their community or environment; these assets ranged from buildings, land use, traditional trades, personalities, cultural activities, etc. While researching a subject such as a traditional trade, children inquired into the history of trader and the trade, materials used, and the trade processes and products. Children also produced an inventory of historically significant buildings in the town, as well as homes in the outlying district, in the form of sketch maps; this resulted in illustrated town maps printed on banners.

The final exhibition provided an opportunity for the many cultural assets of the different places and communities to be gathered together in one location. The collection of photographic works at the final exhibition covered people, occupations, buildings, and local environment. Viewing the exhibition gave young and adult audiences a holistic picture of their locality, and its cultural and natural assets and resources. The exhibition visually mapped and archived how the residents of Balik Pulau and their activities were connected over historical time and geographical space, and served as a means of archiving and promoting the cultural assets of that locality. The exhibition served as an advocacy tool to raise the interest of the larger community towards their own heritage.

This project helped Arts-ED facilitators understand the strength of photography as a documentation medium, and the power of the camera as a pedagogical tool, where the lens served as a means through which children could safely explore, observe and closely investigate their surroundings. Although photography was not the only medium used throughout the programme, it continued to play a key role in several of Arts-ED’s future projects in the district.

Supporting Archival Materials

Pillai, J. (2014) Chapter 2, Case Study 3: myBALIKpulau – Cultural Mapping and Interpretation using Photography. In Community-based Arts & Culture Education: A Resource Kit (pp. 25 – 32). Penang: Arts-ED. (PDF)

REFLECTION FROM PARTICIPANT(S)

Siti Maryam binti Shariffuddin

Siti Maryam joined the myBALIKpulau project in 2005 when she was 12 years old and stayed on for 3 years:

“[What] I remember the most about this project is the teamwork. I am still in contact with a few of my friends from this project. Besides that, the training we received on sketching the images for the map and the way to conduct interviews still benefits me today.

I also have more confidence in facing other people and I am more friendly with the society around me. This project taught me that to gain knowledge, I have to search for it and not just wait for it to come to me. This has helped me in my studies.

I believe that the project contributed to the community. Although it does not cover the whole story of Balik Pulau, they may have gained knowledge about Balik Pulau from [what we have done].

I want to be more involved in my community.”