death. freud labelled it 'fear of extinction' and claimed that it is the driving force behind our social lives. though unscientific, one cannot help but wonder whether there is a grain of truth hidden somewhere within. untitled #1 (this used to be my playground) (2007) captures something of this. it leads us to wonder about the people who once occupied this space. who were they? where are they now? a million questions flower in our minds. while Malaysian artists are still engaged in a dialogue with each other about self-censorship, eiffel chong has highlighted another dialogue that is important to malaysia. it is a more broadly encompassing one that affects all malaysians every day of their lives – the dialogue between the old and the new.

born in 1977 eiffel chong received an ma in international contemporary art and design practice from the university of east london. death is a theme that runs through all of his work. in his own words, “no matter what I photograph, be it flowers or buildings or landscape, death is something that i couldn’t avoid.” malaysia is developing so very quickly, such places are created and lost in an endless cycle. the old disappears so very quickly and all people are left with are memories. this is captured beautifully, hauntingly, in untitled #1. when asked what inspires him he tells us, “i think it is roland barthes’ book, camera lucida, that really inspires me. i realized that the concept of ‘what has been’ is strong in my work.” …

graeme s. houston
contemporary annual issue 2008