In a Circle, In a Hoop

Ever picked up one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the world and wondered if you’re somehow linked to someone in there? Ever realized how we are all strangely connected to each other; in a circle, in a hoop that never ends?(stole a few words from "Colors of the Wind" here)

Studying the migration patterns of humans gives us a glimpse of the development of human civilization and shows us the patterns of human existence.

Meet Ian Teh, photographer extraordinaire- Chinese by design, Malaysian by birth, and globally acculturated by all means. And we share the same insane uncle, unfortunately.

Never heard about this Malaysian before? Nevermind. Now you know who Ian Teh is.

From the Black Rain collection (China)

2008 Olympics boxing champion, Zhou Shi Ming

Summer Journey (2008 Olympics, Beijing)

Sociologist Larry T. Reynolds (1992) observes that race as a concept for classifying humans is a product of the 1700s, a time of widespread European exploration, conquest and colonization that did not begin to subside until the end of World War II.

(Picture above)

Dharamsala: Reimagining Tibet
A Tibetan youth and his Swedish girlfriend hanging out at the Tara Café. Many young Tibetans are fascinated by Westerners and Western culture—and vice versa, as the growing tide of Western travelers arriving in Dharamsala testifies.

Ian Teh’s photography skills are so amazing I hope I can hire him and his wife as my official wedding photographers when I get married at the age of 40.

The above picture never failed to make me ponder upon the fragility of life each time I look at it.

TIME: 15 May 2008
As soldiers carry a survivor of a collapsed school, at far left, another laments her missing child.
Dujiangyan, China (earthquake)

Neo Burlesque London, 2009

We shall talk about Ian Teh’s other interesting relatives some other time. Uncle J is not one of them ‘cos I just talked about him and his Bali holiday recently =P

Notting Hill, London

I think it’s a great idea to keep track of the whereabouts of your relatives from near and far, eventhough they might not be interested in finding out about your existence on this planet. Just these past few months, I’ve managed to track down a few long lost relatives from a few countries through the Internet (am I amazing or what…).

And boy-oh-boy let me tell you this- had I been walking along the streets of London or sauntering through the Alaskan woods just like any other curious tourist and suddenly made friends with an uber-good-looking Asian guy from any of these faraway lands, there could be a possibility that we shared the same great-grandparent or ancestor and we’d not even realize it because of our completely different family names. It’s just that our Asian genealogical records aren’t as thoroughly maintained as those that of our Western counterparts.

This Ian guy recently married a talented photographer from Beijing, China (CONGRATULATIONS!). So let’s say Ian and his wife soon have a daughter called “Ah Mei”, and I get married at the age of 40 and get a son called “Ah Beng”, and at the age of 30, Ah Mei chances upon 20-year-old Ah Beng at a busy restaurant in Hanoi (Vietnam), both wouldn’t have realized that they shared the same great-great-grandfather because Ah Mei and Ah Beng's parents never bothered to get in touch with each other. What if Ah Mei and Ah Beng were to fall in love??

Ah Beng: Mother, I met a girl. Her name is Ah Mei. We plan to get married soon.

JG: WHAT?! WHO?!

Ah Mei: Hello, Aunty.Ni hao ma?

JG: But son, she’s older than you are. *horror, horror*

Ah Beng: But mother, age is no barrier. Love conquers all…

JG: But son, she’s your distant cousin! Didn’t you know that?!

What could be a better comeback line from Ah Beng after this, I wonder…

But mother, if Darwin* and Einstein could do it, so can I???

* On 29 January 1839, Charles Darwin married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and had ten children. TEN CHILDREN! Wah liew…

Skandar Keynes, Charles Darwin’s great-great-great-grandson (!!!)

**All cool-looking photos taken by Ian Teh, except for the one above.