The Multitude seeks to re-site and recreate multicultural, multisensorial, and multi-ethnic Malay public spaces in London. The catalyst for this project is the construction of Malaysia Square at the foot of Battersea Power Station, intended to make a tangible Malay cultural identity and a sense of home; but in reality, a space of exclusion and control. 

The major component of the work, The Malay Parade, involves a series of public performances in which participants, bedecked in multicoloured Malay facades, proceed through the space of Malaysia Square and set up a series of stalls to embody the exuberant liveliness of street food vendors that characterise Malay public space. Both performances were abruptly halted and evicted from the site by private security guards underscoring the hidden power relations behind these semi-private public spaces in London.

The Malaya Times is an artist’s book taking the form of a tabloid newspaper, which provides critical commentary and context to this eviction and surveys the nature of public space in Kuala Lumpur where the hybridity of un-programmed public spaces allows for diverse religious and cultural backgrounds to be performed.