My exhibition of photos Empathy at KLPac closed on the 8 March. This third collection of images of people with disability doing their own thing in sports and in work, was on display for 7 weeks. During that time there were several write ups about the exhibition and one of the portraits of Siti Aishah made it to the front page of the Sunday People in the NST’s Sunday Times.

This media coverage of the disabled group gave all those people in this small and fragile community a much needed visual profile which they seldom get. The Star newspaper’s writer Tan Karr Wei also wrote about the portraitures with understanding.

Then there was Elaine Lau from the Option of the Edge who also gave a voice to this often voiceless fellow citizens. Ng Suzhen from the Malay Mail was the first to put this story in her CyberSpot page. The Chinese press too especially the writer Chee Nyuk Yan from Nanyang Siang Pau gave this group a center spread in their Sunday edition and this was followed by Sin Chew Daily‘s reporter Ten Yien Hsia’s news of the event. I was also invited to talk about the exhibition on TV3′s Malaysia Hari Ini morning magazine show.

After all the effort of first going out to get the cooperation of all my disabled friends to allow me to photograph them, and then to mount and promote the visibility of the subject to a larger public, it had dawn on me that this project of promoting a little more empathy for others, has been all a group effort by everyone who has been involved. This is also a note of thanks to all of you. Now I am beginning to understand.

A view of the exhibition with some visitors

Justin Hughes visiting

Lee Hong Leng taking a closer look

This exhibition has been on for a few weeks and it had many visitors. Justin Hughes, an old friend from the 80s, was one of the first visitors.  He was in Kuala Lumpur for a short visit after attending an International Law conference in Singapore. Justin is currently a Law Professor in New York.

Lee, a fellow photographer and partner of a photographic lab that printed all my prints, was also at the show to share his experiences about photography. It has been his continuing support and encouragement, over the years, that has made it possible to continue this social documentary project.

Philip Chong giving a hand to one of the disable participants

Eric Wong explaining the functions of the camera

Wilfred Tan giving some finer points about using the camera

A photographic workshop at Beautiful Gate

Last Saturday, 16 August, I invited Philip Chong to help me conduct a half day basic photographic workshop for 15 members of wheelchair user organisation, Beautiful Gate, in Petaling Jaya. Philip in turn invited three of his photographer friends (Eric Wong, Wilfred Tan, Mike) to join us.

Beautiful Gate is organising a national photographic competition and this event is open to everyone including a section for the disabled photographers. Those interested please click here for more information about the organisation and the competition.

Our aim was to provide some basic knowledge of the camera, to this disabled group, to enable them to take part in the photographic contest. Not everyone at the workshop has a camera but most of them has a hand phone with a camera and so we worked with whatever they brought along.

Within a few hours we showed them some sample pictures by the guest photographers, we got each of them to take some views of the compound at the Beautiful Gate, we went over some of their shots and make some remarks about how to improve their skills.

Just as there are many things in our daily life which are not disabled friendly, the cameras too  are not designed with the view of the disabled users. But they still make do and get by cheerfully clicking away with their camera at themselves and their environment.

In the Face of Disability on display at Sri KDU

The IB Business students and members of the Sri KDU Secondary School’s Reaching Out Club, together with their teacher and advisor, Muhammad Azhar, invited me to exhibit my photographs ‘In the Face of Disability’ and to give a talk at their school in Kota Damansara. The exhibition is from 28 July to 1 August at the school’s foyer. I gave a talk ‘ The Arts and social responsibility’ this morning, to the club members

This is the first time any school has requested to display the collection  to show to thier students, what one  small but often neglected group of our community, does for sports, in the Malaysian Paralympics. This set of pictures ‘bring’ these disabled athletes into the school and the students get to ‘meet’ them, and to know about them, perhaps not in person but in spirit.

One of the remarks I over heard as I was putting up the pictures with the help of some of the students, ‘Look over there did you see that person who can swim without his legs?’. Or ‘Do you see that they can lift weights?’ Hearing just one or two whispers among the young people make all the effort of documenting and touring these images of these athletes worthwhile.

Hopefully this exhibition and the talk will stimulate some of the students to think and look outside their classroom and their school gates.

Thanks to all of you from Sri KDU.

Photographs of Art for All

In the last three years, I have been exhibiting my photographs at the art camp. This year I showed 50 black and white pictures which I made the year before, of the camp. These photos are simply hung out on lines along certain passage ways and sometimes they are moved from one location to another within the camp area, for everyone, who care to look at them.

My main aim is to provide the campers and visitors with some personal memories of the previous years events and put on record some of the more memorable moments and faces and happenings. Besides these images also tell a story of the daily life of the five days, showing the joys and pains encountered by some of the disabled artists, musicians, dancers etc.

Of course, from the blind boy’s broad smiling face, painted with a flower by a fellow-camper, it is easy to tell that he is really happy participating and doing things with friends. At some point I wished I could imagine what he sees in his mind and what is his own idea of his own handsome and youthful face? His hearing is perfect and perhaps it would help to just describe his features to him in words rather then in picture. On the other hand, he may already know his face better then anyone can. Not surprising, he can see with the touch of his fingers better then any of us sighted can and also perhaps feel deeper in his darkness then many of us care to.

One of the other reason why me, my wife and son, who is just going to be five, are at the Art for All camp, for the last six years, was to volunteer (with no pay) as resource persons, helping out with the many tasks there.

The group photo of all the ASEAN deligates

Nurul at work with her mother Wairah

Seng Kit showing one of his line drawings with his mother Jenny

Art for All 2008 Thailand

This year, there were three ASEAN delegates, from each of the ten member countries in this region, invited to the event. One of the delegate, from each country, is a disabled person who has been chosen to represent their country in the art form they each excelled in.

Malaysia had the two artists at the camp. Tan Seng Kit was supported by his mother Jenny Soh and Nurulakmal was accompanied by her mother Wairah Marzuki. Seng Kit is good with his lines drawings and he makes his lines do intriguing designs on the paper. Nurul is accomplished in lines, shapes and colours and comes up with unexpected artworks occasionally.

Maman Sulaeman is a well known comic artist from Indonesia and he does his artworks from a wheelchair. Jesusa from the Philippines is an artist, singer, wheelchair table tennis player and a lawyer and she does mainly watercolours with great skill. Jushua Tang from Singapore is autistic but can do fantastic imaginative pictures. Pun Denh from Cambodia is a wheelchair dancer and a musician. (Just to name a few.)

The five days at the art camp was a crashed course in human relationship and cooperation through the media of art, music and dance.

Art for All 2008

The Art for All camp (16 to 20 July) for the disabled children had their annual outing this year at the Arayana Phupiman Resort, about three hours by road, northeast of Bangkok.  Like in the previous 12 camps, since 1997, there were about 150 kids gathered here with mixed disabilities from all over Thailand. There were also more then 300 volunteers and support staff to help run this fun-filled 5 days event.

All the participants are grouped into smaller groups of about 10 and each group is made up of one or two persons who is blind, deaf or with physical, mental disabilities and one who is without any obvious disability. There is an experienced leader assigned to each group and he or she leads them through out the 5 days from morning to night.

The concept of grouping the ten children with mixed disabilities is to get them to understand the art of friendship and the need for interdependence of each other during the camp and also later in life. The blind that cannot see may have the voice, the deaf who cannot hear may have the eyes, those without arms or legs may have the mental capabilities, the rest can all compensate for each other short comings and get along to create music, dance, and many forms and expressions of art.

What is in theory and what happens during their stay together may not always work out as expected, especially given such short time available. Nevertheless, many of the young people are experiencing camp life and the various art activities for the first time in their life in a luxurious scenic outdoor setting. For some this may be their first and last time in the company of some of their disabled mates and their memory and experiences at the camp are all they can take home with them.

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Citi Hadijah, 25, from Johore, is one of the many tenpin bowlers competing for a medal in the 14^th Paralympics in Kuala Lumpur (3 to 9 May). She is slow but she can sure swing the bowling ball over the pins. She has a personal style of holding the ball right up to her face, pause in concentration, before launching it.

The oldest bowler, Amaran B Bohri, 61, is from Kampong Paya Mebi, near Kuching, Sarawak. He is a veteran to this sport; he has won 3 gold medals and several other trophies, in individual and team events.

Amaran’s leg and back injuries were caused by an accident in his work place in 1995. That has not stop him from a happy family life and sports. He has six children and 20 grand children. Bowling is his favorite game.

Maizirah, 46, from Perak, is a first time bowler and she only started practicing two weeks before the games. She had just five bowling sessions at the Ipoh Parade Bowling Club before coming to this meet. She is a natural at the game and plays with a great deal of fun and enthusiasm.

She had a motor bike accident two weeks after her wedding and lost her right leg. At home she uses a pair of shoulder crutches to move about but she had to borrow a wheelchair to come to this venue. What she wishes for is a wheelchair so she can improve her mobility at home and at her sporting meets.

Maizirah’s contact no: 017 584 2639, (Please call her if you wish to donate a wheelchair).

Goh Cheng Yoong, 37, has cerebral palsy (CP), he is here from Penang, with his mother, Ho Lee Mei, to take part in the 14^th Paralympics in Kuala Lumpur (3to9 May). His game is boccia, an indoor bowling game especially designed for the severely disabled person.

The player, depending on his or her ability, may take 5 to 15 minutes to play, throwing or kicking or picking with a pointer from a headgear, the ball. Some players can play by themselves others need help.

Cheng Yoong needs his mother to help him play this game, as you can see from the photo. His mother sits on his right with her back against the playing field and she has to take instruction from him as to the detail position to place the shoot that launches the ball. His mother is his ‘hands’ and ‘legs’.

This couple, mother and son, for the last 37 years, has been closely link in everything in their daily life. His mother said, with a smile, that she is so use to doing things with her son, all the pain and the pleasure, good and bad days, are all mixed into one, that’s life to her. She is happy that her son can join in with the other CPs, in Penang and while at the games, and have a community life of some sort.

Fraidden Dewan, 22, is an Iban, a Sea Dayak from Sarawak’s 20 indigenous groups.

He is the star swimmer of the Sarawak team that is in Kuala Lumpur for the

14^th paralimpiad games, 3 to 9 May.

Eight years ago, when he was helping his father cut down a tree, in his village,

Mukah, near Sibu, he slipped on wet grounds while the tree was crushing down.

The tree fell on his lower left leg and crushed it. It had to be amputated.

He only took up swimming as a sport for the disabled in 2002 and since then

he has been selected to be part of the national team. He is in individual as well

as team events and he is here to show his swimming skills. Catch him and his

team mates in action at the Bukit Jalil sport complex today.

One of his problem outside the swimming pool is the difficulty of getting a

job in his town or near by Kuching. He is now a father of a two year old son

and has a young family to support.

At the moment he lives his family and his father is an odd job worker and the

family income is not predictable. What he wished for, at the moment, is to get

some professional training and to get a good job and to continue swimming and

may take part in the Olympics, in the future.

Last photo: from the left, Fraidden, Stanley, Zam, Zul Amirul

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