Scratching the Surface

Butterworth became Penang's mainland port in 1974 and remains the transit gateway most travellers pass through on their way to George Town; a cross-strait ferry has run since 1894. Urban Xchange brought Vhils there in 2015, and press coverage identifies the unnamed subject as a woman. Her face, cut into a shophouse wall, interrupts that habit of passage and makes the overlooked mainland town a destination in itself.