Occupied Temporarily

In Malaysia’s ever-changing landscape, buildings rise, fall, and are often left behind. Occupied Temporarily is a photographic exploration of the spaces we abandon — and how nature quietly, persistently returns to reclaim them.

These images reveal a world in transition: vines creeping over cement walls, roots bursting through tiled floors, entire facades softened by time and vegetation. Some of these spaces remain as still ruins; others have been revived, adapted, or reimagined. In all of them, there is a dialogue between human ambition and natural resilience.

Set against the backdrop of Malaysia’s tropical climate — where even concrete is no match for humidity and growth — this series reflects on the impermanence of our presence. As development accelerates, these moments of overgrowth offer a quiet reminder: we do not own the land, we only borrow it.

Through this body of work, the photographer invites viewers to pause, observe, and reflect on the boundaries between the built and the natural, the present and the forgotten, the temporary and the enduring.