Abstract
This study examines the conservation and transformation of the Ching Ang Methodist Church into the Methodist Heritage Gallery (MHG) in Sibu, Sarawak, highlighting its role in placemaking and identity construction within the Foochow-Methodist community. By exploring the interplay between colonial modernity, heritage interpretation, and ethno-religious provenance, the research situates MHG as a critical site of memory and cultural articulation. Using an interpretivist approach, this study employs building surveys, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis to investigate the architectural, social, and symbolic dimensions of the MHG. The findings reveal that the gallery's adaptive reuse not only preserves Methodist-Foochow heritage but also serves as a catalyst to induce modern interiority in its subjects through the themes of subjective idealism and emergent domesticities. The study further demonstrates how material culture and archival provenance shape historical narratives, asserting the MHG as a cosmogram that encapsulates religious, social, and economic transformations. Ultimately, this research underscores the significance of community archives in redefining heritage as an evolving and participatory process, contributing to a broader discourse on identity and memory politics in postcolonial Asian societies.
Publication Date
7-29-2026
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Submitted Date
2025-03-25
Accepted Date
2026-06-15
First Page
207
Last Page
230
Recommended Citation
Raman, S. K., & Chian, T. J. (2026). Postcolonial Cosmogram: Modern Interiority of the Methodist Heritage Gallery in Sibu, Sarawak. Interiority, 9 (2), 207-230. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v9i2.1182
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