The Distance

What we discard does not disappear; it drifts. On distant shores, people live within the remains of our comfort — turning waste into shelter, endurance into grace.

The Distance is a photographic project that captures scenes which seem detached from reality. The framing and perspective create a sense of being an observer, distant from the action, as though witnessing a projection or a performance rather than life itself. In this work, the world becomes a stage, and the viewer, from a safe vantage point, is left to contemplate its complexities. The initial allure of everyday moments—children playing, people passing by, or conflicts unfolding—gradually gives way to a deeper, more unsettling view. 

Through this tension between beauty and discomfort, The Distance reflects on how we perceive our world today: trying to understand it, to act within it, yet often reduced to passive observers — watching from above, from a safe place, while reality continues just out of reach.

Kampung Forest is a water-settlement in Sandakan, Sabah — a fragile constellation of stilt houses rising from the tide. Here, life unfolds in delicate balance with nature’s moods: the sea both sustains and threatens, as storm waves and surging tides claim homes and memories alike. Beneath the houses, the water carries traces of human presence — drifting plastic, fragments of daily life — reminders of how survival and waste intertwine. Yet beyond the pull of the ocean, another force looms — the threat of removal, of erasure. Between water, debris, and authority, Kampung Forest endures, holding on to its place at the edge of land and belonging.

This project was photographed in 2024 as part of ongoing research into how people inhabit fragile environments. It is both a personal act of witnessing and an invitation to see.