BOB TEOH (b.1948 Malaysia)
Bob Teoh is a veteran photojournalist, who turned his lens to the landscapes and inhabitants of Bario, a well hidden and vibrant region of Sarawak, East Malaysia. He presented these revelationary images in the landmark exhibition,
Between Two Rivers, which opened at The Private Gallery, Malaysia, last year. Some images from the series were also included, during Asian Art Week New York 2008, in the exhibition,
Borneo – Bowl of Wind and Water, at the English Speaking Union USA Headquarters in New York.
“Bob Teoh’s visual accounts of the frontier communities of the Baram and Trusan Rivers of Sarawak remind me of Hedda Morrison’s pictorial representations of similar communities in the 50’s and 60’s. In those days, and through her numerous independent photographic tours, Hedda sought to capture images of people and places, recording and reflecting their particular ways of life, living along many rivers of Sarawak.
In the same vein, Bob Teoh, through images of Between Two Rivers, offers insight into the souls of various communities, villages and longhouses dotting the banks of Trusan and Baram including their tributaries. Roused by his desire to track through photographic images the gospel route into the furthest reaches of both rivers in Northeastern Sarawak, Teoh’s collections conjure what he calls “the essence of the communities’ daily lifestyle without any fanfare.”
His documents of the daily lifestyle of various communities, whether it involves men and women engaging with their farming activities, children playing together in the river, man and his dog sharing a boat, women praying and cooking together by the hearth in the longhouses, Teoh’s images bring to life the diversity of cultures and places along Trusan and Baram Rivers. Like in other parts of Borneo, the two rivers defined and shaped the way of life along their banks.
Conversely, the diverse communities depend on the two rivers for daily living and activities. This dependency on the two great rivers and their head waters by a number of interrelated groups such as the Kelabit, Lun Bawang, Saban, Kenyah, Kayan, Berawan, Penan including the Ibans and Malays further down to the coast, is succinctly conveyed through Teoh’s photographs. His superb documents reveal the exotic along the rivers, and at the same time provide a window into what is meaningful to those who live and make a living along and in between the two rivers. “
Dr, Poline Bala
(Ph.D. Cantab)
