The Tuba Diary
Unpacking The Weight of Memory with BonTon Locale
February/ March 2025
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Literally and conceptually, the unpacking has begun.
It's fasting month.
So yes — the challenge level automatically increased.
The intensive work phase officially begins. A humble thank you to Bon Ton Locale, Langkawi BonTon Locale for being incredibly generous and providing my residency stay. Because of them, I have a real roof over my head and a solid base of operations while I do the work. It’s the calm before the storm.
Staying at BonTon during the fasting month was a unique experience. While I was busy wrestling with my thoughts and my mangrove-style branching ideas, the team there provided such a calm and grounded space for me to work. Their hospitality—especially during such a special and reflective time of year—made all the difference.
Thank you for being such wonderful hosts and for creating a sanctuary where I could truly sit and eventually find the clarity I was looking for.
"You don’t bring the idea to the site. The site suggests the idea to you." — Sharon Chin
With those words framing my mindset, the residency phase took on a deeper importance.
This residency phase felt important because I needed to decide where the work was really happening.
I interviewed former farmers who spent much of their lives working on these fields.
I was collecting memories.
Stories about helping parents at the fields, staying out until late during harvest season, dealing with crops attacked by disease, paddy eaten by buffaloes, collecting leeches and memories of childhood growing up around the bendang.
Slowly I began realizing something.
The paddy field wasn't only a place for agriculture.
It used to be a place where people learned, played, worked and grew up.
This entry of The Tuba Diary captures a moment in the project's evolving process. These documented reflections take physical form: the site-specific installation of Unharvested Futures: Voices of The Field is now open for public viewing among the paddy fields of Pulau Tuba, Langkawi until July 26, 2026.
Note: Images shared with the kind permission and blessing of the Tuba Island community.
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