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Thursday November 29, 2007

Giving a voice to the disabled

Photo gallery

By JADE CHAN
jade@thestar.com.my
Photos courtesy of VICTOR CHIN

THE 30 black-and-white photographs are no ordinary portraits, for each tells the story of the strong will and determination of a special group of people – the Malaysian Paralympic athletes.

Painter and photographer Victor Chin focuses on capturing the moments, gestures and facial expressions that reflect the vitality and earnestness of the athletes revelling in various sports events like track and field, swimming, archery, power lifting and boccia (a special bowling game).

A special group of people: ‘In The Face Of Disability’ is Chin's second collection of photographs that give a voice and a visual profile to the disabled community.
In The Face Of Disability is Chin’s second collection of photographs that give a voice and a visual profile to a small but often vulnerable group of people who happen to be somewhat neglected by mainstream concerns.

Triumph, his first collection of similar portraits depicting the creative side of disabled children and Paralympic athletes, was exhibited in 2005.

“There’s a lot of injustice because the Paralympic games have never been given much coverage, and disabled people are usually portrayed as ungainly and not in presentable ways.

High jumper: Mohd Izwan Foniran, 2006.
“I want to give them their dignity and portray them as ordinary people, who just happen to be disabled, with interesting stories to tell,” said Chin, 57.

He shot the digital photos in colour, then converted them into black-and-white using his computer. Dodging and burning techniques (the “darkroom part” of photography to make the photos lighter or darker) were used to create focus on the subject, while removing distracting details and enhancing lighting.

The photos were printed by Applied Imaging, with images in 30 x 30cm and 30 x 40cm sizes.

Chin said he chose to have his photos in black-and-white as it provided a better chance for viewers to look at the pictures and take in their details.

Track athlete: Rahim Yusoff, 2006.
“Black-and-white pictures can tell better stories than coloured ones. Though the ‘disability part’ is that it’s limited to monotone, it speaks for the subject more eloquently.”

Chin’s foray into the art world began in the early 1980s with his visual documentations of Malaysian shop houses built between 1900 and 1957.

“My watercolour paintings celebrated the architectural legacy inherited by our forefathers. I also spent 15 years championing a more sympathetic urban planning for conservation of old buildings in Malaysia.

“After hitting my head against the wall of urban conservation one too many times, I took refuge in my garden to console my disappointment,” he said with a laugh.

“I started painting the life cycle of plants, then a series of large abstract pieces and another on imaginary spaces.

“Meanwhile, I also dabbled in photography, another visual medium that has always been parallel with my life. I used photography as references for my paintings, to document items, or simply for pleasure.”

Chin started photographing the disabled community seven years ago, when he first volunteered as an artist at an art camp for disabled children in Thailand.

“This is my way of presenting some kind of voice on behalf of the disabled community,” said Chin, adding that his next collection would focus on disabled people at work.

“I hope to raise viewers' emotional consciousness of whether they have done anything for somebody with a disability, and that they’ll leave with a bit of understanding of their fellow humans’ condition.”

He hopes to take his collection around town after its present exhibition, and is open to showing them upon request.

The exhibition will be on display until Dec 16 at Kimi Gallery Café, No. 80 Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

Its opening hours are from 8.30am to 8pm from Mondays to Saturdays, and from 8.30am to 6pm on Sundays. For details, call the café at 03-7722 5585 or email Chin at vicchin@gmail.com.

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