Which Childhood Photo Was Too Awkward For Benjamin And Narelle Kheng To Recreate?

“I can’t do this!” shrieks Narelle Kheng, before storming off set, leaving her brother Benjamin to cut a solitary figure in the camera frame. The studio is abuzz with frenzied chatter. Ben starts railing about the “weird” state of events. Everyone frantic-leaps into damage control mode. Narelle’s manager suggests switching things up. Our art director and stylist ponder the next move.

Lest you think Narelle has gone all Mariah Carey (read: diva) on us, let us explain. We are in the 8 DAYS studio with the Kheng-blings, where at our behest, they’re recreating some of their childhood photos. You know, those #major throwback memes which lit the Internet, where grown-ups dress in similar outfits and pose like they did in their childhood pics? Yup, Ben and Narelle are meme-ing it up. What better way to celebrate adulting than to revisit your adolescence and bad fashion choices, right?

So we are re-enacting their last blast-from-the-past pic for the day, where the cherub-faced sibs are sharing a bun while on vacay in Perth with their folks (see above; left). In the shot, they’re taking a huge bite out of a bun. The same bun. On opposite ends. Fast forward to 2017, in a studio in Singapore. Ben has a bun in his hand. He bites into said bun, and Narelle swoops in to take the other end. She tentatively inches closer and closer, until she’s a Subway footlong sandwich away from Ben’s face… then bursts into loud laughter. She can’t do this, and she storms off. A split second later, the 23-year-old collapses into yet another fit of laughter, alongside her equally amused 26-year-old brother who cries: “It’s damn weird!” Narelle opines, “Dude, all the comments we’re going to get from this s***. It’s going to be terrible leh!” Ben suggests giving it another go. Take 2. Same thing happens. So, ladies and gentlemen, there you go. The backstory of the bun shot. We eventually went with separate buns (above; right). What a bun-mer.

We get the siblings to share the stories behind their childhood pics.
B: This was taken in Fremantle, Perth. Our parents went to university together in Perth. They fell in love there. And I was conceived in Perth.
N: This is one photo that we decided not to recreate — for obvious reasons.
B: (Shaking his head) Nothing awkward about that at all.
N: We tried. It didn’t work.
B: That was the last time we shared our food.

B: (To Narelle) I think you look way cuter in this photo than you do now. I was a massive fan of David Copperfield. I got the cap at his show here. I was about 7 or 8, which means Narelle was 4 or 5. She couldn’t think for herself yet.
N: I still can’t.

B: This was one of those nights when our parents were out and we daringly stayed up till 12am. We had a double-decker bed — I took the top bunk — and we’d pretend that it was a pirate ship. We’d even clean the barnacles off the sides of the “ship”.
N: That double-decker bed took us lots of places.
B: We travelled the world before anyone else did — on a double-decker bed. And if she got upset with me, she’d just kick the top bunk.
N: Oh yeah.
B: Now, she just kicks me.

N: Look at how cute Narelle is. Isn’t she just the sweetest?
B: Lies of the devil.
N: This was taken in the house that I was born in. It had a really cute mini-backyard that we would spend a lot of time in.
B: That was my Sunday church outfit. It was quite embarrassing. It’s plaid. What year was that?
N: 1998. I was five.
B: It was a terrible year for me.
N: What happened?
B: I got bullied in school.
N: Aww…
B: (Points both middle fingers to the camera) [Expletive] you, bullies.