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St. Francis Xavier’s Church, Melaka · January 2024

Built 1849

I went back to the same church, but this time I took the colour away. In black and white it all gets simpler: white walls, light and shadow, and a date written over the door.

  • Black & white
  • Three frames
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  1. Double exposure of a crowned statue of Mary and Child over the congregation and the altar, black and white01
  2. The words Built 1849 and part of the church name over the entrance, seen from below, black and white02
  3. The church's side tower seen from below at an angle, with a string of festival flags across the frame, black and white03
Double exposure of a crowned statue of Mary and Child over the congregation and the altar, black and white

01 / 03

Two Pictures in One

This one is two images layered together. The statue of Mary holding the child floats over the people and the altar, almost like a ghost in the room.

That’s how the statue felt to me inside the church: always there, watching over everyone, but not quite in the same space.

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The words Built 1849 and part of the church name over the entrance, seen from below, black and white

02 / 03

The Date Over the Door

Right above the entrance, the church tells you its age: BUILT 1849. I stood underneath and looked straight up.

I cut the name in half on purpose, “of St. Franc…”, so your eye stays on the date and on the round window in the middle. To me it looks like an eye, watching the street below.

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The church's side tower seen from below at an angle, with a string of festival flags across the frame, black and white

03 / 03

Flags on the Tower

The side tower, from below, leaning into a white sky. A line of little festival flags was hanging across it, and I decided to keep them in.

They make the serious old tower feel lighter, more alive. That’s the street for you. It always finds a way into the picture.

See it on Instagram
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