Holding to the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, an environmentalist and filmmaker is hoping to dismantle the stereotypes surrounding Penang’s coastal fisherfolk, who are seen as poor, not progressive, and not developed.
Evelyn Teh will showcase a visual narrative of the coastal fisherfolk in Penang called “At the Edge of Water” on March 2 at the Stories Matter: Exposure+ Sony Mentorship Project Presentations to present the real picture.
Furthermore, she wants to highlight their contribution to society.
“I hope people will feel a sense of connection with the fisherfolk because a lot of times we don't know where our food comes from.
“We deal with the ‘pasar’ (wet market) people as well as the fish vendors and vegetable sellers, but they’re not the ones that put their lives on the line out there day and night, really working for food security in Malaysia,” said Teh who holds a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
Elaborating on her intention to battle perceptions, Teh, 40, said fishing has been something humans have been doing to put food on the table since time immemorial.
“The way coastal fisherfolk fish is sustainable. They fish for what they need. It's not like the big boats that go out into the sea with big nets, things you see in deep sea fishing.
“So that relationship with nature and humans, I think is worth looking at, apart from the poverty lens point of view,” she added.
For the workshop, six photos will be put on display and more will be presented as part of a slide show. At the time of the interview, Teh and her mentors were still selecting photos.
No pre-conceived narratives
For Stories Matter, Teh wanted to feature people whom she already knew and had access to due to her work as an environmentalist and public policy researcher for a small non-profit organisation based in Penang called ARA Research.
She has been working with this coastal fisherfolk community since 2016.
She feels that most people are not aware of this community because their plight is seldom highlighted in the media.
“So, through this photo documentary, I would like to bring their thoughts forward in a visual sense, and also share how we approach this project with a bit more dignity and respect.
“It is about putting them in the forefront rather than us presenting our narrative and then finding visuals that support that,” she added.
Teh pointed out that these villages are now the centre of conflict because they occupy prime real estate. This problem is something that fisherfolk who live all over Malaysia as well as in countries like The Philippines and Indonesia are also facing.
“You have certain quarters who ask why can’t these fisherfolk adapt and take up aquaculture or even start deep-sea fishing.
“That’s a very simplistic way of saying that this is the solution. When you go down to where they live you realise that these coastal fisherfolk are an integral part of the social capital of a location.
“You'll be surprised how the fisherfolk are the backbone of small cottage industries. And they play an important role in supporting communities,” she revealed.
Grateful to have been given a chance to work on At the Edge of Water, Teh said she used her own camera, a Sony Alpha 7 IV for the project. Sony also loaned her several lenses.
Dignity, respect
While she can have the right equipment, she conceded that going out in the field with a camera pointed at people’s faces can be quite daunting.
“Though I may have known them for some time, they will still question me and ask me what I was going to do with the photographs.
“So you have to spend time with them. Sometimes you just have to go there and take not even a single photograph. Just sit and listen to them and talk to them, as a friend,” she said, adding that it was important not to objectify the subject because it dehumanises them.
At the Stories Matter event, she hopes to bring forth as much dignity and respect for the coastal fisherfolk rather than present a preconceived notion of them.
“If you want to take nice photographs of fisherfolk, you can already imagine thousands of stock images, throwing the net out in the sunset and, you know, things like that. Those very pictures that you see all the time.
“The pictures I am going to show are not going to be very aesthetic, something that you blow up and become a nice poster. But I hope it helps to let people see something more than that,” she said.
Initially, Teh wanted to cover the whole supply chain of fisheries and highlight how food security in Malaysia is being threatened.
“As I kept taking photos and talking to people, I started thinking that the whole human element would make a more compelling story and everything would just fall into place,” she explained.
Activism through arts
Asked if she sees herself as an activist, Teh replied that she would not have “touched that word with a stick” some 15 years ago but participating in the Bersih marches changed her.
“But once you get into understanding, you know, human rights, social justice, and all that, I mean, all of that, if you stand by that value, you are an activist, even if you believe in, you know, animal rights, you are an activist to a certain extent, or you believe in labour rights or rights to health and housing, you are an activist. So in a broad sense, yes, I am an activist.
“But over the years, I think there is, of course, a time and place and a role for this kind of activism to play. But there’s also activism through arts, through visual arts and photography. I think that is something that I can contribute, not just in terms of writing, because I’ve been writing as a researcher almost all my life,” she added.
In 2022, Teh made a 20-minute short documentary Grey Scales after receiving the Best Film Grant at the 2022 Freedom Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur.
This film captures the poignant journey of an elderly woman living in a gentrified neighbourhood and her struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I’m just amazed at how it perhaps resonated deeper than if I were to write a 20-page research article on the same matter.
“So I think reaching out to the masses, you need that kind of approach, the visual, audiovisual approach. But of course, there is a role and time and purpose and place for everything,” said Teh.
She hopes her images of Penang’s coastal fisherfolk will leave a big impact on those who view them.
Stories Matter: Exposure+ Sony Mentorship Project Presentations will be held on March 2 from 12 pm to 5pm at The Studio, KLoé Hotel, 227 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. If you wish to attend click on the link here.
-Mkini
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