Anastacia Mala
As a third-culture-kid and a child of the Asian diaspora, there is much I culturally miss from my Malaysian heritage. Being tied to Europe for my family and career, most of what I get to see from Southeast Asia comes through the lens of other photographers. Photography is a way of experiencing culture that isn’t talked about enough because it comes with a great deal of shame and guilt. Not being able to experience my cultures directly is something that haunts me and other third-culture-kids; in our circumstance, there is nothing wrong with finding comfort in watching it through someone else’s eyes. Over the course two years of extensive visual research for several projects, I have seen imagery through another persons eyes that I thought only my eyes had seen. This gave me a great deal of comfort and a sense of not being alone.
Southeast Asian photographers tend to be neglected since institutions and curators fail to invest into collecting and creating spaces where Southeast Asian creatives are welcomed. This is especially true in predominantly Western societies where – if you ask me – it is needed most. In this article I’ve compiled a few photographers that have inspired the way I see photography as a medium to connect time and space, specifically within the asian diaspora. I think bicultural kids living in Europe could benefit from knowing their work.
Keerthana Kunnah
Keerthana Kunnah is an Indian-born, London-based artist who uses photography as a means to initiate conversations around socio-cultural issues.
Seeing familiar Southeast Asian elements in fashion photography marks significant progress towards a more authentic and inclusive representation of the Asian diaspora. Her work also challenges societal norms surrounding gender and sexuality and fosters dialogue on these topics, particularly within the broader South Asian community. Through her practice, she creates a safe space for exploring these issues, both for the artist herself, but also for the spectators.
Generally in her work she blends fashion and documentary photography, creating a distortion between reality and fiction, binary and non-binary, in an effort to shed light on her community in contemporary visual culture. I often emphasize the importance of incorporating asian elements into fashion photography. Not only is it providing asian representation in a predominantly white industry, but it also acts as an accessible entry point for viewers, a point of curiosity and questioning. Engaging with the visual aesthetics allows people to connect with the image on a surface level before exploring the multilayered contexts behind it.
As many children of the Asian diaspora struggle to restore harmony with their relationship to their home culture, for Kunnath photography is an important tool in renegotiating her relationship with India. It’s helping her create the visual world she craved as a kid as it is cultivating new modes of creativity and inclusiveness for the future generations.
John Clang
John Clang is a Singaporean visual artist that I’ve followed for a couple of years now as he finds himself in-between dual realities of two global cities being New York and Singapore, unrestricted by time and geography. Despite earning his MFA in London and living in New York, his work is mainly recognized in Singapore.
Since Singapore gained its independence, the city-state’s economic, social and educational progress has stood out, but its national and cultural identity often comes into question. Singapore has a diverse cultural history and the young population is unsurprisingly mixed, therefore different artists deal with the situated complexities of identities the country inhabits.
John Clang's work contributes to the ongoing conversation about Singaporean culture, focusing on the way families are seen as the foundation of the community, society, and the nation. Focusing the challenges of a new-wave diaspora, it shows Singaporean families from various races and ethnicities facing separations; as Singapore increasingly embraces globalization, he highlights how this shift leads to displacement in many ways.
Being torn in between Singapore and New York, memory, time and deconstruction of the idea of family are recurring themes in his work, especially in his “Being Together” series where he projects a Skype image onto a family member standing next to it. The images are unsettling, but comforting, in many ways. From how the figure next to the projected image casts a shadow disrupting the projection, to how the different levels of blurriness implies a visual hierarchy within the photographs.
Nishanth Radhakrishnan
Nishanth Radhakrishnan, born in Kerala, India and raised in Tamil Nadu, was acknowledged by i-D as one of the ‘20 rising photographers to follow’. Despite featuring in Vogue, Harper’s, Dazed and Cosmopolitan, he is not as well known as his images. Whether it is from cultural bias and familiarity or the representation gap we’re experiencing, I don’t know. Nonetheless, Radhakrishnan is a photographer of remarkable versatility, as his style and use of the camera is constantly evolving.
His work is fueled by an appreciation for nature, culture, fashion and femininity, often capturing these elements with a sensitivity that bridges traditional Indian culture and values with modern aesthetics.
There’s a sense of nostalgia for his home culture that I really appreciate in his work. He effortlessly combines old traditions in how he handles the medium and the subjects with contemporary visual storytelling.
I've long anticipated his work gaining more recognition in the West, as his imagery is relatable and easy to engage with. While his commercial and fashion photography draws inspiration and elements from his cultural roots, it doesn't overwhelm viewers with complexity. While being approachable for a wide audience, it allows for an immediate connection before encouraging further exploration.
Conclusion
Through the lens of these photographers, I’ve found a deep connection to my Southeast Asian roots, even from afar. Their work allows me, and others in the diaspora, to see our heritage in ways we often miss – through images that evoke memories, feelings of belonging, and a sense of identity that transcends time and space. But this connection should not be limited to those of us who are actively seeking it out. These stories, these perspectives, need to be seen by the wider world.
The lack of representation for Southeast Asian photographers in predominantly white societies, especially in Europe, creates a void – one that leaves our voices unheard and our stories untold. By failing to embrace these artists, we miss the opportunity to see the world through different eyes, to understand cultures and experiences that enrich the global narrative. It’s not just about inclusion; it’s about seeing humanity in all its depth and diversity.
We need more spaces, more platforms, and more recognition for Southeast Asian photographers in the West. Their work matters – not just to us who share their heritage but to everyone. By opening the door to these perspectives, we allow more people to find themselves in art, to feel understood, and to see the world in ways they hadn’t before. And in doing so, we create a world where all stories have a chance to be seen, valued, and celebrated.
Anastacia Mala is a Norwegian-Malaysian photographer living and working in Milan. Her work focuses on creating a dialogue about the intersections of identity and cultural belonging.
