Rakyat Gaga Rakyat ("the people help the people") [2022]
Directed by Areena Ang
Sound production by Badger Storey
‘Rakyat Jaga Rakyat’ (“the people help the people”) is an experimental split-screen video that emulates the ultimate precious object: a family photo book. Moving from the personal to the wider community, the film illustrates the fast-moving conditions of flash floods and climate change phenomena in Malaysia. It seeks to highlight moments of resilience and collectively of a country that has not only been abandoned by its government, but by the stakeholders of ecological imperialism. Sourcing the artist’s own intimate family photos, ‘netizen’ self-uploaded Youtube vlogs and lo-fi news videos – it ruminates on what is at stake of being lost.