Once central to settlement and urban formation, rivers and their communities have gradually receded into the background. Many riverine settlements have since been enclosed and encroached upon by development, becoming islands within the city—tenuously connected yet distinctly separate from one another and their wider urban surroundings.

A Tale of Two Kampungs focuses on two riverside settlements along the Klang River—Kampung Pasir Baru and Taman Hock Ann, situated on the west and east banks respectively. Through cultural mapping, the research explores how these kampungs and their environments have been represented, while beginning to trace how human–river relationships have taken shape, and how they might yet be reimagined and transformed.

Phase 1: Mapping from Above

The first phase of the exhibition examines the settlements from a top-down perspective, through maps, research, and official plans. This initial stage creates a foundation for further exploration of the kampungs and their evolving relationship with the river.

Phase 2: Voices from Within

Building on this base, the second phase expands through oral histories and word-of-mouth documentation with local residents. By engaging directly with lived experiences and memories, the project seeks to explore what it means to be a kampung amidst urbanisation and ecological transformation, and how these narratives may form part of the archives of utopian dreams.