Esei foto-video ini sebahagian daripada projek yang masih berjalan, “Anita & Ava—Fotografi sebagai Alat Pemulihan Kendiri”, yang melihat bagaimana dua sahabat dari kecil meneroka identiti jantina menerusi fotografi, di saat- saat mereka beralih menjadi dewasa. Potret-potret ini yang memperlihatkan mendiang Ava Leong diambil sekitar tahun 1950-an dan 1960-an di mana beliau menjalankan pemulihan diri dari seorang remaja lelaki kepada seorang wanita. Karya ini bertujuan memberi kita sekilas pandang terhadap kehidupan mereka bersama-sama rakan dari komuniti transgender, yang diberi peluang untuk meneroka perasaan diri di samping menyumbang kepada budaya kesenian kosmopolitan di Malaysia.
NOTE: Ho Fan Chon will be present during the post-screening discussion and Freedom Talk: Artistic Approaches to Tackling Social Stories.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Hoo Fan Chon is a visual art practitioner who currently resides in George Town, Penang. He completed his BA in Photography at the London College of Communication, UK, in 2010. His works involve investigating the process of cultural translation, taste as a cultural and social construct, and how our value systems fluctuate as we migrate from one culture to another. His research studies the familiar yet foreign aspects of material culture, the making of cultural symbols and vernacular visual practices, reinterpreting them within contemporary socio-cultural contexts through artwork fabrication, exhibition making, selfpublished zines, workshops and presentations.
*The making of these films were made possible through a production grant by ILHAM Gallery as part of its inaugural ILHAM Art Show, a triennial exhibition platform initiated to give artists in Malaysia the opportunity to experiment and make new work. The ILHAM Art Show 2022 is currently on at ILHAM Gallery, Kuala Lumpur until 23 October 2022