a little bit of everything // 2nd to 7th may 2011, seminyak, bali

walking around bali, we saw these banana leaf trays of flowers and little samplings of food pretty much everywhere. they are offerings made by the balinese twice a day.

i was fascinated with the variety of colours, food and flowers and the tiny portions reminded me of finger food served at cocktail receptions. it seemed to me like each square tray was a summary or a sample selection of whatever was cooking in the kitchen or fresh in the garden that day and perhaps quite telling of the family or person who had prepared that offering.

moss // 7th may 2011, ngurah rai international airport

once upon a youngerthattime, i went on a trip to bogor, indonesia, as a pseudo-scientist to learn more about mosses, lichens and liverworts. seeing these growing on a statue at the airport in bali during a recent holiday reminded me of that trip to bogor.

24 hour may day getaway // 1st to 2nd May 2010

our 24 hour passport stamping excursion to a nearby island...

麻雀虽小，五脏居全 !

thankfully we've still managed go on our (at least) once a year IDiotic Travel Agency adventures two years after graduating, even if it was only for 24 hours...

ayam goreng, bebek goreng, keropokness, jus alpokat, A&W, $23 healthy spa massage, good sleep, sparkling sea, morning crawls in somewhat oily waters, passport stamped - nothing more to ask for really!

后会有期！

scalloped sky en route to genting on your camera // 14th to 18th june 2010

thank you for being someone who would lend a photographer a camera! :]

来啊来啊: Chennai Chutney

dear family and friends + other secret readers again,

some of my works from a workshop trip i was involved in last december will be part of an exhibition called Chennai Chutney that is opening

this tuesday 23rd feb 2010, 7.30pm to 9.30pm at Objectifs (56A Arab Street).

as part of the workshop process, our instructor had a fair bit of control over what was finally selected from the pool of images we gathered over those 5 days in Chennai and Mahabalipuram so you might find that it’s a little different from what i would usually put together for a final selection but i am really also learning to learn from how others see and work with my pictures.

the pictures were selected in a manner that should tell you not only about Chennai but also clue you in on the personality and vision of each of the 8 photographers.

please drop by if you can, have a look and learn along with me!

do let me know if you are coming for the opening so that we can be well-stocked with enough food and drinks for you. :]

thanks and i hope to see you this tuesday!


yan wei


* * *

You are invited to Chennai Chutney!



There is no Taj Mahal or Bollywood to capture the imagination of the would-be tourist to Chennai. In fact, one may at first glance conclude that Chennai is rather like chutney - a spicy vegetarian preparation that is merely an accompaniment to the main courses that are Agra and Mumbai. Looking beyond, however, the visitor is allowed the rare opportunity, amidst an intensely media-opinionated culture, to experience the city from a fresh perspective – his/her own.

Chennai Chutney features images by participants of the workshop led by US-based photo-essayist David H Wells. The photographers - Birgit Voogt, Eleanor Ng, Karen and Laurie Murrell, Duff Hughes, Ulla Gratton, Chia Yan Wei and Su Yen Chen – hailing from 6 different countries of origin and located across three continents - nevertheless blended incredibly well together in five days in December 2009.

From admiring ancient temples to ducking for cover from the unexpected heavy rains, the group got an unforgettable taste of the diverse flavours of daily life in Tamil Nadu state’s capital. It is hoped that the images in this exhibition likewise capture the spirit and soul of this sometimes sour, sometimes sweet, but always spicy city.

Photographers: Birgit Voogt, Eleanor Ng, Karen and Laurie Murrell, Duff Hughes, Ulla Gratton, Chia Yan Wei and Su Yen Chen

Opening reception: 23rd Feb 2010, 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Exhibition will run from 24th Feb – 23rd March 2010
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 11am - 7pm, Sat 12pm - 6pm

Venue:
Objectifs
56A Arab Street
Singapore 199573
t. +65 6293 9782
f. +65 6293 9723
e. info@objectifs.com.sg
w. http://www.objectifs.com.sg

For directions to Objectifs:
http://www.objectifs.com.sg/contact.htm

We hope to see you then!

回故

在去年的这个时候我好像用了我的好光相机捕捉了一个小男孩在人群中带着超大的观阳镜的画面。不知道为什么，这个画面常时不时的浮现在我的想像中。。。

i was thinking about this picture i took about a year ago. with a little spectator boy and his oversized disposable shades for looking at the sunrise we were all sharing. wondering if it was really exactly a year ago, i went to check out my notebook from that trip and wow true enough, i really did take this picture exactly a year ago! 2nd july 2008. zhun until cannot zhun siah. wah my sudden moments of clear memory amidst my general lack of day to day memory do scare me a fair bit sometimes too.



一年前在阿里山的友团。一年后在回故的我。

时间啊时间，你可以不要飞得那么快吗？

记得在前往苏澳火车上偶然遇到的年长夫妇和也在毕业旅行的年轻情侣都很友善的主动跟我们交谈。阿姨还说我们好像还挺开心的。

好想念跟一伙人去长途旅行的感觉咽！

我们今年是否能去文莱探望文莱公主呢？

希望。希望。我们去实现吧！

The Photographers' Stories Redux // 1st to 29th March 2009 at the National Library

Exhibition
1st – 29th March 2009
Level 7 & 8 Promenades at the National Library Building

Official Opening!
Saturday 7th March 2009, 4pm
Level 7 Promenade at the National Library Building

Curator’s Walk
21st March 2009, 4 – 5 pm
Level 7 Promenade at the National Library Building

Since January 2009, 24 photographers have been exhibiting in various public libraries around the island. “The Photographers’ Stories” now culminates in this special group show spanning over the Level 7 & 8 Promenades of the National Library Building. Chris Yap, the curator, recreates new stories from the images, bringing with them new contexts to be perceived and admired. This show is also part of “circa”, a photography outreach programme that takes place biennially, for students aged 13 to 19 years old.




the little solo show that i had at pasir ris library is going to town!

it will be meeting up with the other 23 little solo shows and all 24 of our heartfelt solo stories will be brought together into one curated story in parts that unfold over the 7th and 8th levels of the national library building in town. be sure to check out both levels to catch the whole story!

yup, i know you can't read anything from those two panels so do come to the show to read - read the written stories and read the stories photographed.

enjoy! : ]

hope to see you on Saturday at the Opening then. 4pm on the 7th level hor!

cambodia and then christmas.

blessed christmas.

after being : : far, but not away : : for most of this year, i still felt like i needed to be : : not far, but quite away : : this school break. as part of our traditional class trips around southeast asia (somehow meeting up in milan when we were on exchange doesn't quite count as a class trip), we headed to siem reap and phnom penh for a short trip this december.

our trips had taken us from thailand, to vietnam, and now to cambodia. there are certain similarities but in some aspects the differences were stark. experiencing a place tends to be quite personal though. for me, cambodia was really hot - it was crazy hot weather everyday even though it was supposedly winter, but yet it was still a great place to be because of the people. the people were quite possibly even warmer than their weather, and there was this overwhelming feeling of goodwill wherever we went. we heard a spontaneous life story out of every person we talked with and really felt a sense of 'they really don't cheat your money siah' from the generous helpings of ingredients in the dishes we ate everywhere and the filled to the brim fill until cannot fill bottled water. i hope to go back again soon and learn to be as helpful to the people there as they have been with us.

hrmm and i should also apologise for previously thinking that people who pronounced phnom penh as PPPh-nom penh instead of Nnom penh were odd, yuan lai that's how the locals pronounce it!

blessed christmas once again, and hope that you all are having a restful and inspired holiday season, with a power and meaningful year to come!