LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER SHARES ANTARTICA EXPERIENCE THROUGH PHOTO EXHIBITION

BONNIE YAP COLLABORATES WITH MAH SING GROUP TO LIGHT UP THE LIVES OF ORANG ASLI FAMILIES VIA LITER OF LIGHT PROJECT~

 

Local photographer Bonnie Yap is a cold woman with a warm heart.

 

Following a successful solo photo exhibition in 2014 – The Jewel of the Artic which raised RM79,000 for Assunta Hospital’s Social Welfare Outpatient Programme, Bonnie hopes to replicate the success with a new exhibition entitled “Through the eyes of South Georgia” – Watch, Respect, Capture.

In conjunction with World Environment Day on 5 June, Bonnie will be exhibiting over 20 photographs from 1 to 30 June 2016. Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tuanku Raja Muda Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail and Raja Puan Muda Perlis Tuanku Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil will be present on the first day of exhibition (1 June 2016) to officiate the event. Mah Sing Group is the main sponsor of the month long exhibition which will take place at Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the official venue sponsor for the second year running.

 

“Despite my friends’ teasing, I’m not actually a chionophile even though I’ve been to both the North and South Poles. My original motivation was very simple; I wanted to see polar bears! I experienced that in the Artic in 2013, and that inspired me to make a trip to Antartica in 2015.  The locations were literally polar opposites; the North Pole had the indigenous eskimos, the South Pole was inhabitable, but both has fiercely beautiful nature and wild life, and that is what I want to share with the Malaysian public,” said Bonnie.

“This year, Malaysians experienced the worst heatwaves in history. When I was in school, the Geography books told us that Malaysia’s climate is about 27 degrees Celsius.  Today, 40 degrees Celsius is staring at us in the face due to the El Nino phenomenon.  My trips to the Artic and Antartica opened my eyes to how fragile the environment is. We hear a lot about what global warming has done to the landscape and wildlife there, but until you witness it with your own eyes, it will not feel real to you. As a photographer, I feel that the best thing I can do is to capture through my lens and share what I saw and felt at that moment. I hope that it will motivate and inspire others to think about their actions before they do anything that will be detrimental to the environment,” Bonnie said.

 

The photos to be exhibited were taken at the South Georgia islands in Falkland, a British overseas territory in Antartica. Bonnie has painstakingly curated the pieces to be exhibited from the thousands of photos taken during her 2-week trip from7 to 21 November 2015.  Visitors will be greeted by the staring eyes of a baby seal, in line with the theme of Watch, Respect, Capture.  

 

First, Do No Harm

“There is no native population on the islands, and the team which took us around were polite but firm about their ground rules. We were not allowed to introduce any foreign objects into the environment, nor take anything away. This meant no food, not even a seed, and the ‘take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints’ policy was strictly adhered to.  Our role was to be an observer, to watch the beautiful landscape and wildlife, to respect them, and finally to capture the images for posterity.  At the same time, the animals were watching us! I felt the eyes of the baby seal following me everywhere, and that’s why we are using it as one of the key pieces for the exhibition,” Bonnie explained.

 

Malaysia one of the Most Charitable Country In The World

Malaysia was ranked 7th in the World Giving Index 2014, a list that ranks over 130 countries to see how charitable they are.  During Bonnie’s 2014 exhibition, all the photos printed were purchased by generous donors in a single day, raising funds of RM79,000.

 

She has set a modest goal of RM45,000 from the photo sales this year, which will be donated to Incitement’s Liter of Light project, sponsored by Mah Sing Foundation, the charity arm of Mah Sing Group. Liter of Light is an international humanitarian movement bringing renewable light to energy poverty areas.  In Malaysia, the project is executed by Incitement, a social business which promotes volunteering and social impact in 43 countries. Mah Sing Foundation has pledged RM100,000 and together with the targeted RM45,000 photos sales from Bonnie, they will be able to light up the lives of 67 Orang Asli families by installing 135 lights. 

 

Bonnie said, “I am cautiously optimistic of raising more funds from the exhibition, as I also wish to help a center for physically challenged.  I hope that generous Malaysians will turn up in droves to visit the exhibition and also purchase the photos.”

 

Mah Sing Group Berhad’s Group Managing Director Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong Hoy Kum commented, “As a responsible corporate citizen, we recognizes that the Earth’s natural resources are essential in many aspects of the development industry, and is committed towards safeguarding the environment in our business operations.  This is embodied through the Group’s various green efforts in our project designs, layouts and innovations in property development products. Mah Sing’s environmental management is based on the Group’s Environmental Management Plan (EMP) derived from the recommendations in the Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA), and we are delighted to support Bonnie’s project which will spread more awareness on this issue.”

 

“Mah Sing Foundation is honoured to be involved in this innovative fund raising activity in aid of the less fortunate. Together with Bonnie Yap and Liter of Light, we are very happy to be able to raise funds improve the lives of the indigenous families in Malaysia. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your support to this worthy cause,” said Dato’ Syed Norulzaman B. Syed Kamarulzaman, Chairman of Mah Sing Foundation.

 

“Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur is very proud to be a part of this project. The objective of CSR in the Hotel is to work toward a long term, sustainable initiative with a view to promote a safer and healthier environment for employees, a better living opportunity for the community and creating an environment where the employees and the community are brought to awareness and a cause for a need to improve the natural environment. In all things, there must be sustainable long term benefits to all recipients of our partners this must benefit them either financially, physically and emotionally. Coming together with Bonnie Yap, who have very kindly agreed to partner with the hotel, we will be funding surgery for a needy infant at Institute Jantung Negara.  We would like to thank Bonnie Yap for this opportunity and our friends and associates for the support and cooperation to ensure a successful fund raising”, said Christian Nannucci, General Manager, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

 

Individuals or corporations interested in purchasing a photo or two from the exhibition for charity can contact the Communications Manager of Traders Hotel, Theresa Goh at theresa.goh@tradershotels.com or 03-2332 9821

 

Profile-Bonnie Yap

Graduated from the Malaysia Institute of Arts, Bonnie started her photography career with a boutique advertising agency in 1990. After two years, she decided to move and joined Malaysia’s leading English newspaper, The Star Publications. She was assigned to the news desk for seven years before moving on to the magazine arm of the company. There, she had the opportunity to broaden her photography portfolio and experience as she worked on capturing lifestyle shots for food, entertainment and business magazines.

 

After a 12-year stint with The Star Publications, Bonnie decided it was time for her to move to the next level in her professional career. With her extensive experience in the industry, she is much sought after by corporate, FMCG, telecommunications as well as luxury fashion and lifestyle brands. She has certainly grown from a junior news and events photographer to a versatile professional photographer. Her work extends to indoor studio food shoots to entertainment, travel and fashion. She has also been commissioned by regional clients for photo shoots around the world.

 

Bonnie’s 2013 trip to the Artic ticked one item on her bucket list and spawned her first solo photo exhibition, The Jewel of the Arctic – A Photo Exhibition by Bonnie Yap.  However her travel bug got worse after the trip and resulted in her 2015 jaunt to Antartica.  Besides justifying the trip to her conscience, it produced photos for her second solo exhibition.  Bonnie’s BIG GOAL is to motivate and inspire others to think about their actions before they do anything that will be detrimental to the environment. Bonnie’s SMALL GOAL is for generous Malaysians to be even more generous in 2016.

 

*** ends**

 

Note: Chinese Translation

Bonnie Yap, Photographer

葉蓮鳯,摄影师