PETALING JAYA, Nov 5 — Before her arrival, Isa Ho thoroughly researched how K-Pop has been received in Malaysia. She was particularly interested in discovering the popularity of K-Pop in comparison to traditional Malaysian dance.
Ho has found Malaysia’s unique multicultural landscape fascinating, but more complicated than she originally thought. She found it difficult to locate “purely” Malaysian traditional dance, as touristic shows often combine multiple and arbitrary styles.
As one student of the wonderful dancer and choreographer, Dida Mallik, founder of Didance, notes, traditional Malaysian dance “is not easily obtained as a local living in the urban city.”
On visiting various K-Pop dancers and studios across Kuala Lumpur, Ho was surprised by the incongruity between the dance movement’s popularity and Malaysia’s apparently conservative landscape.
The dance movement is heavily dependent on provocative dress and sexy movements. For her photo series, Preface to Peony Pavilion, Malaysia, she chose to capture this conflict between the traditional and the contemporary.
These strong photographs feature traditional Malaysian dancers alongside a trendy K-Pop dancer, both groups dressed in the typical outfit of their respective dance styles, and showing us some moves.
The contrast between dance styles is mirrored by the aesthetic differences in the photos from Malaysia and the photos taken in Taiwan from the same series. The pastel colour scheme and hazy nature of the Preface to Peony Pavilion, Malaysia are, really, a world apart from the rich, dark colour palette in Preface to Peony Pavilion, Taiwan.
Ho attributes this stylistic difference to her distinct experiences of the two countries. The photos taken in Malaysia capture her unique introduction to and early relationship with the city.
Ho explains that the haze in Kuala Lumpur overwhelmed her experience. Indeed, the city had been shrouded in smog for the entirety of her stay. As such, this is the element Ho also wanted to capture in her photographs, and she did so on top of the world, on a helipad with the hazy KL skyline as the backdrop. It is fascinating to consider how artistic decisions can be so determined by uncontrollable accidents.
Ho remarks that the dancers featured in her Preface to Peony Pavilion, Malaysia photographs had been a delight to work with. They were professional, helpful and inquisitive. They expressed a genuine interest in her work and were very keen to learn more about the project.
The strong relationship between subject and photographer is translated in the images, with comfort and confidence emanating from each model. Ho also says that the success of the project is largely due to the phenomenal amount of support she received during her residency. This support comes from SGFA, the Helipad bar, the Taiwan government, the dancers and others.
Ho is a renowned and award-winning photographer from Taiwan, whose work has been exhibited internationally. She arrived at Shalini Ganendra Fine Art, directly from a Residency program at the International Studio and Cultural Program in New York City.
Ho’s only complaint of her one-month residency with SGFA is that it has been too short. Despite that, the residency has resulted in a stunning, accomplished and innovatively curated show,
Preface to Peony Pavilion, Malaysia is on till December 30, 2015 at:
Shalini Ganendra Fine Art
Tues-Sat: 11am - 7pm
8 Lorong 16/7B, Section 16, PJ
FB: SGFA
Instagram:sgfagallery
