By Marina Emmanuel.

PENANG-born journalist Sharon Cheah Ui-Hoon tells Marina Emmanuel that a cemetery, the resting place of for the dead, also incorporates the economical and political elements of the society of an era.

"HOW morbid!," her friends had exclaimed when Sharon Cheah Ui-Hoon told them about her collection of cemetery photographs.

But it isn't death she has in mind when she takes photographs of graves and tombstones.

Rather, what attracts the Penang-born journalist to cemeteries is the architecture and symmetry, or lack of it.

"While death isn't planned and often ambushes us, religious bodies and government authorities often give a semblance of order to the dead," says Cheah.

"Even when a cemetery grows 'organically', there is a sense of visual poetry about it."

Cheah, a lifestyle writer based in Singapore, began taking pictures of cemeteries since her days as a reporter in the 1990s in Penang.

"I think my interest was piqued during a site visit by the Penang Heritage Trust to the Protestant cemetery opposite the E&O Hotel.

"This is where Francis Light is buried, along with Chinese Christians who came to Penang after the Taiping rebellion in China."

The historian in Cheah got intrigued in the histories that cemeteries held, and thus began a love of cemetery photography which has seen her make detours during overseas assignments to enrich her photo collection.

"The Protestant cemetery in Penang is very pretty, especially with the two rows of frangipani trees near the entrance.

"I thought the entrance would make a romantic floral arch for a photo shoot, but of course no newly-weds would want to use this backdrop unless they're not superstitious!"

Cheah's interest in collecting photos of cemeteries began in earnest in 2003 when she went to Sri Lanka.

"We were driving along the coast of Negombo towards a village in the Wattala/Ja-ela district when we passed by some large crosses on the beach. I quickly asked the driver to stop the van to take some pictures."

The scene was both scenic and incongruous. Cheah had never seen a cemetery on a beach, covered in sand, under swaying coconut trees.

"After that, I made it a point to take pictures of cemeteries in all the countries I visited.

"I have always admired people who made it a point to collect the same kind of souvenirs from countries they visited. But I did not want a bunch of spoons or cups, so pictures of cemeteries seemed the easiest."

Cemeteries, says Cheah, can serve as a tourist attraction as well as spark interest in local history.

"What shapes a country is the people. Penang, just like Malacca, has cemeteries that date back to the 15th century and what a wealth of history there is to be told."

She says there are also economical (what kind of tombstone a person has) and political (the decision by a government for the placement and establishment of cemeteries) elements to the cemeteries.

Earlier this year, Cheah showcased her collection at an exhibition in Singapore entitled "Parting Shots -- A Photographic Essay of Cemeteries from Sri Lanka to Spain".

It featured 19 photographs from 13 countries captured over 10 years.

The snapshots reflected how different cultures remembered their loved ones and how a country remembered its prominent citizens as well as tragedies.

"While these are pictures of cemeteries and monuments, they are ultimately not only about the dead but also about how the living commemorates them," says Cheah.

** Republished with permission. This article first appeared in the July 19, 2009 issue of the News Straits Times.

Related articles

• MPPP Chief To Maintain Historical Cemetery (Chan Lilian and Jimmy Leow, You Tube, 28.06.09)
• Historical Site In Grave Condition (Chan Lilian and Jimmy Leow, You Tube, 15.06.09)
• Protestant Cemetery (Section I: Colonial Quarter, iGT George Town WHS)

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form