Cambodia, crossed glances of 2 photographers in official selection of the month of the photo 2020, in Grenoble, dedicated to the memory.

You can't escape recent history when you go to Cambodia. Neang Sok, a student from Phnom Penh who drives a tuk-tuk to pay for his studies, was adamant that we understand why his country was still in such a state.
I let myself be convinced by my guide and he led me to the 2 main places of memory of the Khmer Rouge genocide, Choeung Ek and S 21, in Phnom Penh.
In the middle of the ultra touristic site of Angkor, a real financial manna essential to the economy of Cambodia, is also the museum of anti-personal mines, created by Aki Ra, a former child soldier. Drawn by the solemnity of the place, it is the whole of humanity that is summoned to make its self-criticism.

The connection with the history of my colleague's family had become inescapable for me, like a symbol, seemingly so distant and yet so close that one cannot but feel concerned.

Continuing this work on Places of Memory and Reconciliation in Cambodia, this project was created to flesh out reflections as to the family consequences of the Cambodian war.
The project is thus articulated around a red thread: The survivors of the Cambodian war, their peaceful life in France in relation to their past life in this country. My approach, as a member of an expatriate family, mixes family photos and documentary; alternating between the point of view of an external photographer and the point of view of a family member. It was also an opportunity for me to know, and for them to make known, a part of the forgotten history of my family, to know the history of my native country that has distanced me from it. I especially emphasized the memory of their pain, their nostalgia at the time of remembering it. For a country that has suffered, the survivors are scars.
Aesthetically, I chose to make this project in black and white, in silver to emphasize an imperfect, uneven aspect; dated as if to make these abstract notions more organic and to render a kind of timelessness of this moment. With the idea in mind that some people will soon be just memories. To be able to create their memory and shape the memory that will remain of them.

Click on the poster again to see the set design.

To see the photos, visit the exhibition catalog.

Poster design by Studio JamaisVu!"