Imaginings of Nationhood: on “Negaraku”, a Collector’s Show by Bingley Sim and Ima Nurbinsha

A NATION IS, first and foremost, the story of an idea. That’s what we mean by “nation-building”—what’s being built is, in fact, a story of Malaysia, one that perhaps exists more distinctly in our heads than anywhere else. After all, reality is too messy and volatile to be contained by a single story. But what this story does is supply a sense of identity and direction—who were we once, who are we now and who do we want to be?