Whenever I need inspiration for my projects, I always talk to myself. The young boy in the photos is a representation of the younger me, when I was still living in Malaysia.

Being Malaysian Chinese, I have experienced inequality and racial discrimination. I constantly felt my voice being suppressed so that I was unheard. Photography became an outlet for me to voice my opinions.

This series was shot to serve as my commentary on the social-political happenings in my hometown of Pengerang, Malaysia. Unfortunately, Pengerang is currently undergoing serious environmental destruction due to the construction of an oil refinery.

The scenarios presented in the images are heightened realities. Through the manipulation of the metaphorical relationship between the environment and myself, these carefully composed images also aim to criticize the political situation in contemporary Malaysia.

—Wilfred Weegee