Kampung House

Kampung House 2007

Malaysia's rural villages have many legends. If stories are to be believed there are many ghosts, not just supernatural but echoes of tragic stories left behind by families, lovers and unique interactions by rural humanity.

For almost seven years I travelled along rough tracks in my Jeep, taking my camera with me. There were so many wooden kampung houses just left to rot as the previous owners had died, and the younger generations had fled to the towns and cities to make the living they were unable to do in those secreted villages.

All along the kampung dirt tracks, overshadowed by banana and coconut trees there were these dilapidated buildings waiting to fall, covered in flora and immense character. Snakes and insects had made them home in a mosquito filled environment. Termites built hills nearby the small forgotten orchards of rambutan and mango, colourful beetles launched from unkempt torch ginger flowers to land on bushes of pandan.