Step into a time machine and go for a ride around Penang. These five photobooks take you on guided tours along Penang’s historical and cultural richness through time and space.
By Agnes Chin
Can we interest you in a little tour around Penang from the comfort of your favourite chair?
A melting pot of cultures blending eastern and western influences resulting in colonial architecture, dramatic landscapes, unique customs and traditions, vibrant celebrations, and richly diverse Penang-Lang (colloquial for Penangites) are the main ingredients that bring about the fascinating personality that is Penang, the Pearl of the Orient. We introduce to you five photobooks that capture and immortalise the spirit of Penang’s personality through the lens of Penang’s talented photographers.
Over Penang | Rediscovering Penang through Eyes in the Sky
Award-winning photo book by David ST Loh: Over Penang. Source: arecabooks.com
It’s easy to fall for Penang’s landscape of colonial, oriental, and local influences woven within Asia’s richest sociocultural heritage, thus stirring desires to capture all your encounters in this extraordinary little Malaysian state through photographs. While most photos you capture or encounter tend to be from ground level seeing that we are earth-bound (most of the time), photojournalist David ST Loh brings you unique views of Penang from the sky through his stunning drone shots. Rediscovering his beloved home state of Penang after spending years abroad, David Loh aptly titled his book ‘Over Penang’, an immersive 134-page photobook showcasing aerial views of both the island and mainland Penang with brilliant write-ups intimating each image, drawing you deeper into a trance of cultural richness and awe.
Over Penang retails at RM150 per copy (Hard Cover, Size: 29cm X 28.2cm) and is available for purchase in stores and online at arecabooks.com.
Simply Penang | Getting Up Close and Personal with Penang-Lang
The second photo book by David ST Loh: Simply Penang. Source: www.shopmyairports.com.my
A second instalment of David ST Loh’s photos of contemporary Penang, Loh dived down to the ground this time with Simply Penang, an insightful new compilation of Penang portraits where he gets up close and personal with his fellow Penang-Lang. Within these 80 pages, Loh, an internationally published award-winning author, photojournalist, editor and aerial landscape artist, breathes to life the best Penang has to offer: from its monuments to its flora and fauna, from its people to its cultural festivities, and not forgetting, its world-famous street food.
Simply Penang retails at RM40 per copy (Hard Cover, Size: 19.1cm X 19.3cm) and is available for purchase in stores and online at arecabooks.com.
Penang at a Glance | Preserving Penang’s Unique Diversity
Photographers of ‘Penang at a Glance’. Clockwise from top right: Sherwynd Rylan Kessler, Oh Chin Eng, Thum Chia Chieh, Govindarajoo Selvathurai. Source: buletinmutiara.com
George Town Festival’s maiden publication, Penang at a Glance, aims to preserve the diversity and uniqueness of Penang. This 96-page photobook straddles the old and new faces of Penang, featuring its colourful festivals and celebrations, vibrant arts and cultures, and breathtaking landscapes and architecture that highlight its inhabitant’s multicultural, multi-ethnic and multifaith heritage, lifestyles, and identities.
The four photographers responsible for immortalising both Penang’s familiar and never-before-seen scenes in Penang at a Glance are:
- Sherwynd Rylan Kessler, an award-winning professional photographer specialising in various fields from wedding to lifestyle;
- Oh Chin Eng, a civil servant and photo enthusiast who often travels around Penang on his motorcycle and captures candid shots, focusing on people and lifestyles;
- Thum Chia Chieh, an electronics engineer and photographer who captures Penang’s changing landscapes and streetscapes as means of preserving them for future generations; and
- Govindarajoo Selvathurai, an engineer who turned his hobby into a great passion, specialising in drone shots, taking aerial and landscape photography.
Penang at a Glance retails at RM60 per copy (Hard Cover, Size: 20cm X 20cm) and is available for purchase in stores and online at store.georgetownfestival.com.
Moments | Capturing Memorable Moments in Contemporary Penang
George Town Festival’s second photo book: Moments. Source: store.georgetownfestival.com
Penang’s rich heritage was cultivated from centuries of playing host to newcomers from lands near and far, be it merchants, traders, labourers, and all sorts of visitors and settlers—each of whom brought a little slice of their homes with them. Moments, the second photobook from George Town Festival, highlights Penang’s contemporary landscape resulting from moments past and present, a mixture of local and localised foreign flavours that make up Penang’s charms today through 66 captivating images and accompanying short stories spread over 112 pages.
The three photography talents who captured the essence of Penang’s ‘Moments’ in this book are:
- Chew Yih Chang, an award-winning photographer whose aerial shots through drone photography offer incredible city-scaping and fantastic framings of beloved Penang from above;
- Sean Lim, a surgeon by profession, whose images feature delightful landscapes of Penang’s attractions such as George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site and Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve; and
- Patrick Loo, a photographer specialising in traditional trades, cultural rituals and festivities, whose captivating images offer reflections on how Penang used to be and what it has become.
Moments retails at RM90 per copy (Hard Cover; Size: 24.8cm X 27.9cm) and is available for purchase in stores, at tourist attractions, and online at store.georgetownfestival.com.
Koay Jetty Penang: 25 Years Apart | Revealing a Lost History
A photographic record of a Penang clan jetty: Koay Jetty Penang: 25 Years Apart. Source: arecabooks.com
Koay Jetty Penang: 25 Years Apart is a photographic documentary of a Penang clan jetty, Koay Jetty, featuring photographs taken between 1979 and 2004 by Dr Ooi Cheng Ghee, now a retired medical practitioner, along with an in-depth account of the jetty’s history written by Chan Lean Heng and Rosalind Chua.
This 140-page pictorial documentation was published by Wawasan Open University, through the George Town Institute of Open and Advanced Studies, with the aim to contribute to arts and culture and foster an understanding of Penang among the international community. Dr Ooi believed he had a story to tell and did exactly that by capturing images of the people and their daily lives along the jetty’s slow decline. Koay Jetty was eventually demolished to make way for a residential project in 2006. Dr Ooi witnessed the end of Koay Jetty and, through his book, ensures that its history is not lost to us.
Koay Jetty Penang: 25 Years Apart retails at RM160 per copy (Hard Cover; Size: 28cm X 25cm) and is available for purchase in stores and online at arecabooks.com.
These masterfully-captured photography compilations not only document cherished connections, mesmerising moments, and poignant passages of the Pearl of the Orient among locals, but also serve as sentimental souvenirs for visitors and tourists alike. The depictions of heart-warming scenes and intriguing facets of both Penang Island and the Mainland will hopefully inspire the desire in Penangites and visitors alike to create and capture more Penang-specific memories through the art of visual storytelling.
A self-proclaimed writer cum entrepreneur with a corporate background in strategic management and operations efficiency, Agnes Chin enjoys living in her fairy-tale bubble where she envisions a world of happy endings.
Cover photo collage by Agnes Chin