People of Pearl is an ongoing photo project documenting the lives of Malaysian tradesmen and the nature of physical labor before the impact of the Covid-19 virus on the island of Penang, the Pearl of the Orient.
As the virus spread and instigated lockdowns across the globe, parts of the well-developed world transitioned to remote forms of employment, with many working from the comfort of home. This project contrasts that switch with people whose entire livelihoods depend on a more physically tangible sector of the economy; a sector reliant on years of honed technique and bare hands.
The project is dedicated to the small, often multi-generational businesses of consummate skill who simply couldn’t survive the devastating changes brought by the pandemic. It was shot on color 35mm and digital and intended for print. Included are a selected handful of images from the first half of the unfinished book.
