#039: KL20X20
Last month, I was chosen to be part of a small local photography festival that ran from 10 September 2020 to 20 September 2020 here in Kuala Lumpur. The mini-festival was called the KL20X20 Photography Project. This marks the first time my photos have been officially “exhibited”. Yay!
This mini-festival put out an open call earlier in the year with the aim of exhibiting 20 selected photographers from Kuala Lumpur, each showcasing on their own interpretation of what it means to be here in KL in the year 2020. I ended up submitting my on-going project the “Ikat Tepi” series, to showcase our love-hate relationship with single-use plastic. For a more thorough look at the work that I’ve done for this series, please look at these blog entries here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Due to the still on-going variation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) that’s is in place to control the spread of COVID-19, there wasn’t much time to get out and about to add to the collection. In the end, a total of 8 photos from my series were selected to be exhibited for the festival. To play along with my narrative of how we use and dispose of the ikat tepi - and how we turn a blind eye to the waste we leave on the streets of the city - my photos were placed on the walls and on the floor of the exhibition venue REXKL, in areas where the photos blended into the surroundings. This made is slightly harder to locate, compared to the other photographers being exhibited in the same venue, but this added intrigue and excitement to the ones that eventually found the photos. Most didn’t even realize they were stepping on the photos!
The photos below were the ones that made the final cut.
The whole experience of being part of this festival was greatly enriching. As I said, this would mark the first time my photos were put on display! and hopefully, this won’t be the last. I met so many new local photographers along the way, all of which had some really amazing selections of work being displayed.
A big thank you to the organizers of the festival and the amazing level of effort and work they put into this, and to make it happen given all the crazy stuff that’s going on at this moment in time. And thanks to all the family and friends who came out to see the photos on display, truly appreciate the support.
Below are some of the shots I took during the festival using my mobile phone.
Hope you’re all doing well and staying safe out there!
Cheers.
