Fighting racism through photographs

Two photographs from Adams' Why Is Your English So Good?" series.

PETALING JAYA: Daniel Lee Adams has been called "Ching Chong Ching" and been told to "go back where he came from" in the streets of Britain.

He has also been asked why his English is so good or why he even speaks the language in the first place.

These experiences inspired the 21-year-old from Kuala Lumpur to come up with a set of conceptual photographs that revolves around the problem of racism commonly encountered by Malaysians like him in Britain.

The series entitled Why Is Your English So Good? is Adams' final project at Falmouth University, where he is studying photography.

"I wanted to create a project that was close to home. Being Malaysian and studying in the United Kingdom, I have had my own fair share of racist comments thrown at me.

"I wanted to shine light onto the problem that exists within the UK," Adams told The Star Online.

The series of 15 stylised photographic portraits was featured on the website of British newspaper The Guardian and widely shared on Facebook.

Each image attempts to portray the featured individual's experience with racism whilst either studying or working there, with an accompanying caption to describe the incident.

It took Adams about three months to complete the project.

"Basically, I hope that this project will open people's eyes to what the problem and how it affects people.

"People need to take into consideration what they say and how it might affect another person," said Adams, who will graduate in July.

Adams said the Malaysians he shot for the project were all friends who studied or lived there, and each of them had previously received loose comments and rude assumptions.

He said he had received positive feedback for his work, with many Malaysians glad that he addressed the issue as it spoke to them in a very distinct way.

Adams, however, stresses that the British are generally not racists.

"I can say a lot of it is ignorance. People need to be educated more on certain aspects of life.

"However, there is a surge of racism here in the UK, especially in light of recent terror attacks.

"Islamophobia is on the rise and foreigners have received a lot of backlash as well," he said, adding that he was thinking of embarking on a similar project back home in Kuala Lumpur.

Adams' pictures can be viewed here.