The Founding Ancestral House #18, Ah Ma’s Kitchen Corner belongs to a series documenting a forgotten ancestral home in Muar, Malaysia, once inhabited by five generations of a Chinese Hokkien family. The photograph captures a quiet domestic interior marked by weathered timber walls, worn furnishings and traces of everyday life. Rather than focusing on people, Ho Leng records the lingering presence of those who once occupied the space, allowing ordinary objects and architectural details to evoke personal and collective memory. As part of her ongoing investigation into Southeast Asian heritage houses, the work reflects on family history, cultural continuity and the gradual disappearance of traditional ways of life.
The Founding Ancestral House #18, Ah Ma’s Kitchen Corner
Year of execution: 2010
Year of acquisition: 2023
Medium: Photographic prints
Dimension: 28 x 20 cm
Artist(s)
Ho Leng / Melissa Ho Xueling
