The moment Dr K. Azril Ismail laid eyes on the advertisement for a decommissioned ambulance, he knew he had to have it.
He was in the midst of building his darkroom studio and lab in Subang Jaya in Selangor, but having another one on wheels would take him places, literally and figuratively.
“I didn’t consider it (a mobile darkroom) until I saw this ambulance for sale. I immediately wanted to just go for it. A few practitioners abroad have done this, so I thought...why not? It felt like serendipity that I found it on offer,” says Azril.
The photographer is referring to projects such as Jack Lowe’s Lifeboat Station Project in Britain, a mission to photograph all 238 Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat stations on glass. RNLI, entirely funded by voluntary contributions for nearly 200 years, is a charity of volunteers who save lives at sea in Britain and Ireland.
For his Lifeboat Station Project, Lowe works from his mobile darkroom, a decommissioned ambulance called Neena.
Azril’s ambulance has a name too, one he came up with on the spur of the moment while fiddling with the messy electrical wiring in the ambulance.
The 45-year-old photographer decided to call it Tofu, because of its off-white colour.
The vehicle, hardly a pristine specimen, has certainly seen better days.
“Many asked if I was ever going to repaint it, as it was dull and faded, with scratches from wear and tear. But I would never do that. It has grown on me and it should remain this way. It is fine just as it is,” he says.
Converting the ambulance in late 2020 into a functioning darkroom was not a particularly complicated task as he kept most of the interior – like cabinets, shelves and tinted windows – intact. There was a lot of going back and forth with the automotive inspection company to get the proper endorsement by the transport authorities, as the ambulance was to be repurposed for “work” rather than as a medical transportation.
“The red tape took a long time to deal with, but it was sorted out early on during the purchase. What was also a bit of a nightmare was sorting out the internal electrical wiring, as it was in quite a mess.
“But other than that, the internal build is perfect as a working space. There is ample headroom and all the small cabinets are in small pockets that will carry all the things I need for my work. I barely had to do any modifications there,” he explains.
Azril removed the stretcher platform in the ambulance to create more space. The air conditioning system had to be fixed.
And of course, the siren lights, the crescent moon symbol and the “ambulans” signage, had to be removed, for use on the road.
“The goal here is simple: I would like to not worry about rushing back to the darkroom at the studio (in Selangor). With Tofu, I am able to do the chemistry mixtures on-site as there is ample space, water supply and sink to work with the development of the plates. In a way, I suppose this may be seen as an alternative project, but it isn’t – it is a part of my life’s journey as well. It also means that I do not have to simply ground myself to just one location,” he says.
Light through a pinhole
Azril is no ordinary photographer. On his Instagram page, he describes himself as a “photohistorical practitioner and artist”. He has been a photographer for 25 years.
In 2001, Azril graduated with an arts degree in media studies (photography) from the Columbus College of Art and Design in the United States, then pursued his masters at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) the following year.
Starting in 2005, he lectured at local arts institutions, sharing his knowledge on photographic based studies. In 2010, he started his PhD at Plymouth University in Britain and in 2015, became associate lecturer and demonstrator, with a focus on alternative photographic process. He returned to Malaysia in 2016.
Azril is a practitioner in early 19th century photo-historical processes, with a focus on the daguerreotype (a unique photographic image captured on a highly-polished surface of a silvered copper plate) and wet plate collodion process, one of the oldest photographic processes to make unique images on metal plates.
He also dabbles in salt and albumen prints, and recently started experimenting with platinum/palladium prints.
Besides being a photohistorical practitioner and researcher, he is a research fellow at Taylor's University.
In Kuala Lumpur, his recent solo exhibitions include Experiencing Pudu Jail’s Graffiti at Badan Warisan Malaysia (2019), and Thirty Pieces Of Silver at Wei-Ling Gallery (2017), while his photographic storyteller side was captured early on at the Iron Dragons Of Malaya show and book in 2009, which documented the historic locomotive depot in KL – the Sentul Workshop.
He also had selected works shown at the Kuala Lumpur Biennale (2017-18) and The Invisible Future, Facing the Visible Past: Malaysian Photography Culture And Photobooks show at Lightbox Photography Gallery in Taiwan (2020).
Outside photography, he spends time working on a series of intricate sketches and pencil drawings.
In the coming months, Azril plans to travel around in his mobile darkroom, and start a new body of photography work.
“These are not exact pre-visualised works, as I do leave it to serendipity to create as needed. They may be of people I meet or spaces that demand my attention. What I do want is to deal with self-reflective visual conversation with my works, creating image-objects and finding value in things that I experience and have a certain affinity towards.
“This (new) series will be different from my previous works; there are a combination of many tools besides image-making... like sounds and poetry that come with me on my travels,” he says.
Azril has loaded his 1950s typewriter, which has been gutted and fixed, onto the ambulance. You might find him writing poetry here, usually at the break of dawn.
As for the sound aspect, he recently acquired a harmonium that will accompany him on his journey.
“I felt the connection to sound art since engaging with sound artist Dr Kamal Sabran of USM. I feel like both poetry and sound open up a lot of myself as a practitioner. This is important as it helps to enrich or explicate my actions, and I am able to project my thoughts better and no longer feel apologetic in creating my works,” he says.
Next month, Azril (on harmonium) will join Kamal’s healing art project Segar Angin, together with academician Sany Hanif and performing artist Aida Redza, which is part of Malaysia’s Pera + Flora + Fauna group exhibition at the Collateral Events programme of the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in Italy.
This event at the Venice Biennale showcases another side of Azril's practice, which is performing arts in the area of experimental sounds.
Road tripping ahead
Presently, Azril’s tentative road trip plan in Malaysia includes stops in Perak, Perlis, Kedah and Penang.
“I do want to see the region alongside Tofu, starting with local destinations, including small towns and hidden troves of spaces that would be revealed to me in time. Who knows, if logistics permit, I could even visit neighbouring countries like Thailand or Indonesia.
“The ambulance will function as my transport, a darkroom and an elevated platform for a higher vantage point to see ahead of me. It might also be a temporary sleeping space during my travels, a simple set up to rest overnight,” he says.
Last month, Azril held a fully booked photography workshop – as part of the Exposure+ Photo exhibition series – in this ambulance at the loading bay of creative community mall GMBB in KL. Here, he had a demonstration of the wet plate collodion process, specifically in the creation of the ambrotype plates (a positive photograph made by a variant of the wet plate collodion process).
It was a treat for darkroom enthusiasts, and also a glimpse into the versatility of Azril’s mobile darkroom and what it potentially could be used for.
Having said that, he is putting workshops on the back burner for the time being.
“Tofu has become a curious attraction, I guess we sort of stand out. It has opened doors for me to communicate and connect with people, even other practitioners I could work with.
“Organising more workshops will come much, much later. But perhaps I could have demonstrations where possible, in my spare time, in which case I would welcome proposals. For now, I plan to enjoy focusing on my work and engaging with the spaces that I will be in,” he concludes.
Click here for updates on his photography adventures.
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