Specialist in digital images, this former student of the National School of Photography in Arles, Charlie Jouvet, has devoted 3 years to thinking about how to photograph the city. On the occasion of the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the entry of Pol Pot’s troops into Phnom Penh – and its evacuation in three days – , he drew an empty portrait of the city. As if the horrible event was replayed. A series without any pathos, as a way to exorcise the past and to question now. Early in the morning, by using very long pauses that erase characters, digitally retouching, and choosing an exaggerated light, Charlie Jouvet confronts us with Phnom Penh today. With its new landmarks, monuments, shops, accumulations of scooters, products, markets, and avenues… all empty. But we also feel agitation, transformation, life just cleared. We also feel, through the subtle differences between the parts of blended photos, some discomfort: something that does not work, or is wrong, in this recognizable city. This work proposes a new view of the city. It will be in an exhibition and a book in 2015.
FESTIVAL
Photo Phnom Penh 2015
From January 31th to February 28th, 2015
Institut français du Cambodge
218 rue 184 – Phnom Penh
Cambodia
+855 (0)23 213 124 / 125
[email protected]
www.institutfrancais-cambodge.com
