Cheryl J. Hoffmann 

Background:

Canadian-US dual national, sometime resident in Malaysia

1980 – MA in Historical Geography from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

1982 - 2008 – Lived and worked in different countries as part of a Foreign Service family

2009 - Present – Photographer in SE Asia

Currently living in Hamilton, Ontario

Photography Exhibits:

2007 – Curated and participated in a Group Exhibit “Eye Contact” about indigenous people in Malaysia, Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2007 – Curated traveling photo exhibit “50 Years of US-Malaysia Relations” for US Embassy, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2008 – Curated photography exhibit “360dpi”, of the photography of Ambassador La Fleur, US Ambassador to Malaysia and 5 other Malaysian and American photographers, Equatorial Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2012 – “Essence & Light” First solo exhibit featuring my work on Hindu culture in Malaysia, at the Indian Cultural Center, hosted by the Indian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2013 – Photo Malaysia Group Exhibit “Wisconsin Sikh Temple Shooting”

2013 – “Worshipping the Sky Gods” – large-scale, outdoor solo exhibit at Georgetown Festival, Penang, Malaysia

2014 – Photo Malaysia Group Exhibit “Women from the Bus – Jaipur to Delhi”

2014-2015 – “Prosperity, Abundant, Eternal” Images of Rice, commissioned by Rice Miller Hotel, Penang, Malaysia

2015 – Group Pop-Up Exhibit at AweGallery, KL, for OBSCURA Preview Launch

2015 – Festivals of Malaysia, Center Court at Gurney Plaza, Georgetown Festival 2015, Penang, Malaysia

2017 – “Gerak Geri” at Ruang at Think City, Kuala Lumpur

2017 – “Of This Place” at Georgetown Festival 2017, Penang, Malaysia

2017 – Rice Paper Prints from Malaysia at Gallery on James, Hamilton, Ontario

2018 – Dato Chachar of Melaka, Gallery on James, Hamilton, Ontario

2019 – Alam (Tak) Nyata with Pauline Fan, Obscura Photo Festival

2020 – The Liquid Land with Mark Morris, KL 20x20, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mentoring and Teaching and Learning:

2013 – Environmental Portraiture, Petronas Gallery

2014-19 – Exposure + – mentor students on visual story-telling techniques

2013 – Master Class w. Maggie Stieber at OBSCURA festival, Penang

2015 – Master Class w. Diana Lui at OBSCURA festival, Penang, Malaysia

Publications:

KL American magazine 2008-2010

Penang Monthly, Photo Essays – “Devotion to the Nine Emperors” October 2013; “The Beat of our Souls” September 2014; “Jalan-Jalan Cari Datuk: Encounters”, November 2018; “Jalan-Jalan Cari Datuk: Interpretations”, March 2019

Festivals of Malaysia by Keith Hockton, 2015

2013-2015 New Straits Times –PUSAKA articles on Traditional Performing Arts in collaboration with Pauline Fan

2015 Advisor to Malaysia Through the Lens of Expat Women

2016 “Of This Place”, in the narrative journal Kisah

2020 “Kuda Kepang – Embodiment and Expression” w Pauline Fan, Pentas Magazine

Upcoming: "Tanah Limpah" photo essay in Svara, Malay Literary Journal, with Mark Morris and translation by Pauline Fan

Current long-term projects:

Datuk Worship and the Historical Geography of Malaysia

Tin Mining Rituals in Malaysia

The Beat of Our Souls – Kuda Kepang Rituals in rural Johor state

The ABC Railway Story – Stamping Towns Across the Prairies