Showing posts with label B&W. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B&W. Show all posts

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Smoke... the veil between the realms

Reaching from other side...
(130mm, f/6.3, 1/100s, ISO1250)
Smoke... the veil between the realms' is a black and white essay that revolves around the use of smoke, incense and kemenyan (gum benjamin) during spirit medium consultations and trances. The smoke here appears to the photographer as the thin veil between the realm of the living and the other side, with objects being passed over smoke to bring out the magical, mystical properties of the spirit world. Hence the smoke represents the gateway that the medium breaches through and back, connecting both worlds.

Incense and smoke is a common denominator in many religious practices. Whether it is agarwood, frankincense, gum benjamin or a concoction of psychoactive herbs,  they have been employed as a means of offering, purification or a way to reach the other world
Menurun.... (Going into trance) (35mm, f/6.3, 1/50s, ISO1000)
Memotong... Tongue cutting for blood to write talisman.
(65mm, f/6.3, 1/50s, ISO1250)

Besides smoke, various acts and objects are always associated with trances, especially with local deity trances. Issuance of talismans, whether they are paper talismans written with ink or blood, or objects like limes, consultation on personal matters, 4-digit lottery numbers and even traditional healing remedies, all which requires the use of smoke to sanctify or empower it.

Menanya(kan soalan)... Consultation with the medium.
(18mm, f/5.6, 1/80, ISO640)



Friday, August 21, 2015

Colour, Black & White Collection - Empty Chairs...

A row of chairs set out in front of a stage show for the Hungry Ghost Festival in Ampang, 2015.
Are the chairs empty or are they taken??

The mirrored and B&W version juxtaposed on the strong colour and contrasty image begets us to ask what if what we see may not be all that is there? There could be something else out there, or it is merely a product of our imagination? With the removal of the blue and purple stage lights that clashes with the bright red chairs, it reduces the 'in-your-eye' image to a series of light and dark, and playfully teases the mind to think there could be more than meets the eye in the image... perhaps the shadows belong to someone, or something out there.