The Pulau I Call Home
"Where is your favourite place in Penang? Why?"
The Pulau I Call Home explores the stories of Malaysians (old and young) through an immersive virtual reality experience of sound and visuals. They are built upon interviews of the locals’ favourite places in Penang Island, the memories they’ve created there, and invites all to listen to different generations on why they stay in this so called "Pearl of the Orient" — or perhaps, why they would want to leave.
The piece is inspired by Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam”, adapted with digital art using Google Tiltbrush in VR to create pockets of worlds and rooms for participants to explore in. The diverse figures and icons strive to be inclusive though please forgive any potential limitations. Instead, come get lost in this wonderland of stories that interweave rooms of botanical gardens and sunset oceans with heritage old towns and neon hokker centres. Perhaps you’d even find a secret conversation of what Penang artists truly desire for the island’s cultural future. Take no offence though, but keep an open mind. To stay or to leave, to preserve or to evolve, to wait or to challenge - these are the questions for our Pulau Pinang.
The VR immersive project is part of Maitree House's Cahaya XR: First Edition, a physical exhibition alongside Malaysia's annual George Town Festival 2022 and will be showcased in Penang, Malaysia July 13-17th, 2022.
Desktop version:
https://georgetownfestival.com/2022/programmes/cahaya-xr-first-edition/
01
Sculpture Room
This is the first, main entrance room which depicts a recreation of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam". On the left, Adam is represented by a modern-dressed Malaysian youth who indifferently reaches out to the herd of angels on another island. This is meant to represent the young people wanting to leave for better opportunities abraod.
On the right, these angels are re-adapted into 5 figures, each striving to symbolise different stories and races of Malaysia. These figures represent the "traditional", older generation who longs for their young to stay behind.
02
Ocean & Beaches
As you journey along each room, you hear different voices of old and young, telling you why the ocean is their comfort place. Explore stories of fishing for seafood or camping in undisturbed beaches.
"The sands are fine, the sounds of the waves rhythmic and soothing, and the scarcity of human interference brings much peace"
03
Hawker Centre
Come try Penang's delights, arguably the place with the best food in the entire Malaysian peninsula. Listen to old aunties gossip in wet markets or childhood stories of favourite, traditional desserts.
"My father used to park the car in front of Town Hall and we would eat the rojak together. After that we would drop my mother of at The Star Publication at Pitt Street for her night shift and we would stop by Nasi Kandar Kassim Mustafa at Chulia Street to pack Nasi Kandar for dinner"
04
Botanical Gardens
Almost 40% of participants in the market questionnaire answered that the botanical garden was their favourite place in Penang. There are mesmerising waterfalls if you're brave enough to venture into jungle territory. This garden offers nature in the middle of the city.
"My favourite place is the Lotus Pond at Botanical Garden. People don’t go there, so I always find it nice to be there, be present, and be quiet for a minute before the mosquitoes chase me away"
04
George Town's Heritage
Penang George Town is mostly known as a Unesco Heritage Site. There are street art on its walls as Peranakan and colonial houses create nooks and crannies of underlying messages and hidden voices.
"The pulau I call home interweaves shared spaces of intangible heritage, especially within the inner city. In the inner city such as George town, I continuously become Malaysian. There's no one memory. Every moment experienced in the inner city, of the inner city, weaves in memories and histories of individuality, collective, and shared-identity.
It is the only place in Penang where people/society constantly shape and redefine heritage & urban: everyday, negotiations take place. Very interesting to observe this"
05
Home
While the island has a lot of beautiful places to get lost in, many older and even younger interviewees mentioned that their home is their favourite place. Penang is their hometown and where their family is, why would one want to leave?
"The Pulau I call home is important to me because that’s where I raised my family. My husband and I came from China and he served in WWII. I brought up our three kids here in Greenlane. My husband loved animals. He used to raise all sorts of birds and dogs behind our kitchen. I would always scold him for it, but the kids loved them. Now I spend my days in the garden. Since the pandemic, I haven't seen my family for a long time"
06
Secret Room: The Artist
The last room was originally supposed to be an Easter egg/secret room where those who choose to continue to listen to the narrative will realise that there is more that lies behind these positive narrations.
The Artist's Room is a gallery where discourses of the young people and modern artists gather to discuss the future of Penang's Art Scene. Many controversial opinions are discussed in this safe place, so do keep an open mind when you enter.
Dedications
This project could not be possible without Maitree House. Special thanks to Michelle Brown for being an excellent mentor, Shahidah for listening to my wild ideas, and Miriam for introducing me to this opportunity.
Ysabel Loh - Artist, Narrative Designer, Scriptwriter
Michelle Brown - XR Advisor
Maitree Team - Steven (Tech programmer), Yi Kai (Sound Recording Artist), Peta & Luvenia (Creative Advisors)
Voice Actors
Ysabel Loh, Lucy Wong, Jason Edward, Miriam devaprasana, Justin Khaw, Richard Loh, Kabilan
Special thanks to interviewed community members: Cristal L., Dr. W.T.Lim, B.Giri, Wani Honey, Kausalyaa Sugumarin, Shahidah, Hara, Lawrence, Kang Blabla, Chng Senn, Yuzhi, Mindy Leow, White Bones, Sue Rajendram, Steven Soon, Pansy, Jarshana, Irene L., Miriam Devaprasana, Vincenzo de Leon, Lee Kok Hao, Lee Khai, Spacecadet, 007, and Brian Raj