KANTA Portraits: September 2015

2015-09-19

GRANT REPORT SUBMISSION

BENCHMARK; finally handed in my Grant Report September 2015 after almost two years since was awarded. Brings an end to another major project in my life. However I have a feeling that its just not over yet for these kamras

5th Nov 2015; delivered a printed hardcopy with CD of images to fivearts centre. Last 10%of grant funding released. Project completed.

#KrishenJitAstroFund #FiveArtsCentre #KantaBoxKamra

2015-09-18

EVENT; CAFFA 2015

Project was invited to be part of an art festival. Managed to capture portraits of more than 15 people within two hours. With the new reproduction lights, it streamlines the process, averaging 10 minutes for entire process. Had a presentation and a nice q&a session after, ending with the inspection of the kamra in detail. this marks the end of all activities with this project. Next comes planning for an exhibition.

CAFFA, Coffee Art Fringe Festival 2015. the Instant Portrait booth will operate from 3.30-5.30pm at Whitebox, MapKL, Publika. A short talk and Q&A will follow after at 6pm at Blackbox. RM30 a print, all proceeds will go to charity. Debut of Kamra #2 Fold Camera and reproduction lights.

UPDATE; 11 useable prints out of 13 exposures. Thanks for participation guys, and also the great support, great to see so many of you. we managed to raise RM330, handed this amount to the organisers, which will be donated to a mobile library initiative or UNHCR.

2015-09-04

REPAIRS, FRAME-MAKER & REPORT

Just completed much needed repair work on #1, #2 and some improvements on #3. making some picture frames from the leftover wood during the sleepy afternoons too. Have been drafting the Grant Report for completion and preparing for another photo booth event soon with photography talk

Jeffrey JC Lim

Jeffrey Lim’s exploration into photography started with the family’s point & shoot film-camera and the stories behind their black & white photographs. It was later in art school that he discovered the magic of the darkroom and explored deeper into the craft of image-making & printing.

He started experimenting with self-made box cameras utilising pinhole and lenses, and also explored using century-old box cameras, crossing between different mediums and methods to producing an image. At the same time, he started researching his family’s roots through interviews and photographs.

After watching the Afghan Box Camera Project video in 2011, he was inspired to design and build variants of the Kamra. Starting the project Kanta Box Kamra, he built the first four prototypes. He then developed new techniques in reproduction & printing after visiting the exhibition Retrato Popular, Sesc Belenzinho, and studying the Lambe-Lambe cameras of Brasil, he built several other prototypes.

In 2017, he started Kanta Portraits to explore the concepts of identity and the national-construct. Travelling to different parts of the region and many different indigenous communities, he recorded their narratives and in return, gave instant portraits. He is currently archiving the portraits and reflecting on the journey in the hopes of producing an exhibition and publication.