A new era of the Malaysian creative forces you are about to see everywhere. Get to know them now before they take over.

Joe Ng captures more than images; he captures instinct. The Malaysian photographer and art director trusts the spark of intuition, letting ideas guide him rather than overthinking. When a project ignites the same thrill he felt snapping photos on his phone years ago, he knows he&rsquo;s hitting his creative peak. Malaysia is home to a rich blend of cultures, styles and landscapes. How do these influences shape your visual language? For me, it&rsquo;s never about consciously trying to &ldquo;represent&rdquo; Malaysia. I focus on creating the work I want to make. Because I grew up here, the layers of culture, contradictions and experiences naturally filter into the images; it&rsquo;s not forced, it just happens. I&rsquo;m not drawn to presenting Malaysia through obvious signifiers, because that&rsquo;s not the relationship I have with those references. What excites me is working from a more personal place. There are so many nuances to the Malaysian lived experience that can be uncovered, and I hope that approach opens the door to something both new and deeply personal in my work. Fashion photography can sometimes lean towards fantasy, while documentary work is rooted in reality. Where do you place yourself on that spectrum, and why? The fun thing about fashion photography is that you can approach it in so many ways. I&rsquo;m really inspired by the work of Jonas Lindstroem, which to me blurs the line between fantasy and documentary. His imagery feels like it&rsquo;s creating iconography, symbols and signs, reinterpreted through his lens to say what he wants to say, yet still able to exist as a commercial product.

The local fashion scene is growing but still emerging internationally. How do you think Malaysian fashion imagery can stand out on the global stage? It&rsquo;s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, and it reflects the broader challenges within Malaysia&rsquo;s creative industry. Fashion imagery has always been tied to commerce, but here the appetite for risk remains low. The truth is, our creatives are already operating at an international standard; what&rsquo;s missing are the opportunities and the trust to push new ideas. For Malaysian fashion imagery to stand out on the global stage, we need an industry that values risk-taking and rewards fresh perspectives. In videography and directing, movement adds another layer to storytelling. How do you approach translating still-image aesthetics into motion? It&rsquo;s a different medium entirely, and because my background is in stills, I had to learn how to translate that into motion. But I also see it flowing both ways. I often look to photo books for how images are sequenced with intention, or direct videos as if they&rsquo;re moving stills, creating vignettes that capture a specific moment or feeling.

"It&rsquo;s hard to dictate what the next era &ldquo;should look like,&rdquo; but if we create the right conditions, I believe something wholly new and uniquely Malaysian will emerge." - Joe

What has been your most creatively fulfilling shoot or film so far, and what made it stand out? In recent memory, directing Shelhiel&rsquo;s Superkiss Side B stands out. Not because it was groundbreaking work, but...

Get the latest issue of <a href="https://www.magzter.com/MY/AMTD-Digital-Media-Solutions/LOFFICIEL-HOMMES-Malaysia/Fashion/">L'Officiel Hommes Malaysia</a> for the full story

Photography Floyd Grey Creative Direction, Styling &amp; Words Syazil Abd Rahim Hair &amp; Makeup Joey Yap Photography Assistant Sze Yang Styling Assistant Fekar Khairul

Malaysia Day Special: Joe and his vision

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