AsiaLIFE

At the end of the month, Phnom Penh has its own international photography exhibition. Mark Jackson talks with the French Cultural Centre’s Alain Arnaudet, the man behind the scenes.

“I want to show the diversity of photography through this festival, and to try to get the public to see what is going on behind the photograph,” explains French Cultural Centre (CCF) director, Alain Arnaudet, explaining the reasoning behind this month’s Photo Phnom Penh festival.When he took over the reins of what is arguably the main driving force behind cultural events in Cambodia, Alain promised to “move closer to the Cambodia people” and “to participate in the meeting of cultures” (AsiaLIFE #14). In the first international photographic festival to be held in the capital, he is delivering on his promise.

Night of the Year

From Nov. 29 to Dec. 7, a series of exhibitions will be held around ten venues in the city, culminating with the night(s) of the year on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. In this final event photographs by international and local photographers will be projected onto 12 large (4m by 3m) screens set in the gardens outside Wat Botun, at the junction of Sothearos and Sihanouk boulevards.“It is a technical challenge to do this here,” says Alain.Most of the photographs are taken from the Arles Festival in France – generally reputed to be one of the most prestigious photographic festivals in the world.

Photographs from around the world featuring art, fashion and politics will be screened alongside images of Cambodia taken by local photographers, including AsiaLIFE’s very own Nathan Horton, Virginie Noel and Keith Kelly.The venue is most important to the CCF, due to its popularity with Cambodians – especially young ones in the evening – according to Alain.“I want to go as close as I can to the Cambodian people,” he says. His face literally lights up as he demonstrates how the park will be full of people watching the large screens.“I want Cambodians to ask ‘what did the photographers want to tell me?’ To open their window to photography.” Not that the festival is just a one-night stand.

With 13 exhibitions in total, the festival opens with a tour of some of the exhibition spaces, concluding at the French Embassy. There the walls will be adorned with a series of three-metre-high faces taken by photographer JR. “It will amaze people,” promises Alain, his face lit up once more. All the faces are part of the photographer’s Women are Heroes exhibition, a series of women’s expressions taken from around the world. It is sure to stop the traffic.

Cambodian Exposure

Four of the photographers on display are Cambodian, some chosen by a workshop held by Antoine D’Agata in April. Although keen to stress the strength of all the work produced by the four Khmer photographers, Alain is particularly excited by the work of Khvay Samnang. This exhibition consists of a series of portrait shots of high school children in rural Cambodia taken with a simple digital camera.“The idea is so simple yet strong,” explains Alain, adding that the idea is the most important thing in photography. The photographs resonate with the stark images of S-21 inmates taken by the Khmer Rouge.

Alain observes how objective the photographs are – a clear distance between the photographer and his subject matter. Heng Ravuth’s approach is strikingly different. Her photographs have a very intimate quality, according to Alain.The two other Cambodian photographs take yet different approaches. Chhing Taingchhea has taken a series of landscapes through a pinhole camera, while Lin Vuth’s approach is much more abstract. This just demonstrates the variety of approaches available to photographers, so long as the concept is strong.

International Perspective

The exhibitions also feature the works of international photographers, including Ludovic Careme’s pictures of fashion-conscious young Khmers.“Visual arts in general and photography in particular is part of our everyday life,” says Alain. He hopes that through the festival, the photographers will be able “to talk with people through images.”“It’s interesting how people can talk to the world without words,” he explains. “It’s very interesting.”

Photo Phnom Penh Festival from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7 at various locations around Phnom Penh.