In 1975, when Pol Pot’s army entered Phnom Penh, Mak Remissa was 7 years old. Like all the other residents of the capital, he was forced to leave Phnom Penh, which remained empty – except for a few people – until 1979, when the Vietnamese troops took over the city. The new masters, often very young people, dressed in black, told people to take only very few things with them since they would leave « only for three days » . For the first time,the photographer who lost most of his family during the genocide and, like so many other survivors, had difficulty in talking about this tragic period, evokes the moment. By using paper cutouts, he reconstructs the scenes he drowns in a smoke haze, partially reversing the decor. A modest series, at the limit of black and white, he also remembers his first experiences with photography , when he dreamed of becoming a professional photographer and was learning photojournalism. Of which today he is the brightest representative in Cambodia.
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
