Title: Borneo - A Photographic Journey
Author: Dennis Lau
Publisher: Travelcom Asia Sdn Bhd
Price: RM70.00

BORNEO, the third largest island in the world, has always conjured an image of exoticness for locals and foreigners alike.

The 757,050km square island which comprises the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, the tiny Sultanate of Brunei and Indonesian Kalimantan is home to 200 ethnic groups who live in scattered population groups ranging from cities to small riverine settlements.

Renown Sarawak photographer Dennis Lau, 61, has been fascinated by the land of his birth since he was a young boy and many of his published works in the last 40 years have been inspired by the island's indigenous people.

His latest book, Borneo - A Photographic Journey, is an exemplary piece of work that documents more than four decades of excellent photography.

Through its 100 black and white photographs of people from various ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak, the book also seeks to explore the changing world of its subjects.

Fifteen ethnic groups are featured, including major groups such as the Iban in Sarawak and Kadazandusun in Sabah and smaller groups like the Penan, Kelabit, Sihan and Rungus.

In Borneo, each of Lau's photographs tells a story on its own.

Of Sino-Melanau descent, Lau's works have graced some of Malaysia's finest coffee-table publications. His forte is photographing the indigenous people of Sarawak and their environment.

Born and bred in Bintulu, then a sleepy backwater village, Lau's childhood prepared him for his future vocation which necessitated roughing it out for months on end in remote villages with the indigenous people.

At the age of 19, Lau won second prize in a photographic competition. It was then that he met K.F.Wong (a professional photographer whom Lau considers his hero) who further encouraged his interests in what was then merely a hobby.

Today, Lau is among a handful of photographers in the country who are deserving of the title "ethnographic photographer."

Lau's canny ability to capture human facial expressions on film is highly acclaimed by those who have seen his works.

What makes his pictures different from others is his ability to capture the soul of his subject within the split second movement of a camera shutter.

Now a retired teacher, Lau first started taking pictures with a Yashica camera at the age of 12.

It was through trial and error, and an inexhaustible drive to improve himself, that he made himself what he is today - a respected photographer!

Deservingly, Lau is the president of the Sarawak Photographic Society and also overseas service representative for Malaysia.

In the book's editorial, Lau is described as having a rare ability to look at his subject objectively and gain what could be considered an outsider's view, whilst using his local knowledge and language skills to gain the kind of access that only insiders are allowed.

"This remarkable combination - the detachment of the outsider and the access of the insider - enables Dennis to achieve both the honesty and the intimacy that all great photographers strive for."

Humble to his bones, Lau just says: "I learned from mistakes and this is the right way to learn where photography is concerned."

Over the years, Lau's works have been used in various publications including Sarawak Style: This is Borneo, Malaysia - Heart of Southeast Asia; Crafts of Malaysia; Archipelago Guide to Singapore and Malaysia; and the Official Kuching Guide 1996-1998, as well as his own book Penans - The Vanishing Nomads of Borneo which is now a collector's item.


The StarOnline
Sunday, January 30, 2000