A Small Town at the Turn of the Century

b. 1959, Malaya; based in Sydney and Port Dickson

This work is part of a parger series of 40 square-format c-type photographs that were taken in Simryn Gill's hometown of Port Dickson, Malaysia. As the title suggests, these photos playfully document staged moments at the turn of the century. They feature familiar and welcoming places like a shophouse or golf course, inside one's living room or by the seaside. As a series, these images humorously complicate questions of cultural identity, history, memory and its interrelations to nature. Faces covered by tropical fruit like rambutan, durian, bananas or mangosteen make for rather absurd portraits. These various types of fruit ironically obscure the individuals from closer scrutiny or categorisation.

From left to right:
1. A Small Town at the Turn of the Century #9
2. A Small Town at the Turn of the Century #26
3. A Small Town at the Turn of the Century #34
4. A Small Town at the Turn of the Century #28
5. A Small Town at the Turn of the Century #32