In this age of being able to take and store thousands of photographs with ease, it is quite easy to overlook the unique position photographs have had throughout the history of their existence, particularly in terms of photography’s cultural significance. An ongoing exhibition at Ilham Gallery, called “Bayangnya Itu Timbul Tenggelam - Photographic Cultures in Malaysia” aims to capture some of this, by displaying Malaysian photographs from the 1920s to the 1970s. We speak with curators K. Azril Ismail, Hoo Fan Chon, and Simon Soon about what these photos might tell us about our past.

Image Source: Ilham Gallery