Inherited Gaze – An Evening of Seeing Photography Exhibition by Eric Peris

INHERITED GAZE — AN EVENING OF SEEING
Photography Exhibition by Eric Peris

Sutra Gallery
11 September 2026

The opening of Malaysian master photographer Eric Peris’ Inherited Gaze at Sutra Gallery last night,

11 September, brought together a warm and intimate gathering of Malaysia’s photography and cultural fraternity.

Among those who graced the evening were H.E. Shri Dharsana M. Perera, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, senior writer and journalist Cyril Pereira, former New Straits Times journalists, artists, friends and members of Eric’s family.

Curator Sivarajah Natarajan, a steadfast champion of Eric’s extraordinary and often quietly guarded creativity, engaged the 87-year-old master in an affectionate exchange that revealed much about the man behind the camera.

Widely regarded as a father of modern Malaysian photography, Eric spoke of the profound influence of his painter father, O. Don Peris. His father never attempted to make him a painter. Instead, recognising Eric’s fascination with photography, he taught him something far more fundamental: how to see.

Not merely to see what is before the eye, but to look beyond appearance—to search for the inner meaning, the spirit and the truth within it.

That lesson became Eric’s compass, shaping a philosophy of photography that has remained remarkably consistent throughout more than six decades of his practice.

The evening continued al fresco, with excellent Sutra cuisine served amidst the sylvan gardens, as a gentle breeze seemed almost deliberately summoned to cool the gathering.

And, fittingly, the evening concluded with another kind of seeing—the audience was treated to a captivating preview by Odissi dancer Rahul Varshney, who presents Āvartana at Amphi-Sutra this evening and tomorrow.

From the stillness of the photograph to the movement of dance, it was an evening celebrating the many ways art teaches us to look, feel and see beyond the obvious.

Sutra