(Tith Narith)

Phnom Penh Mutations

Anna Katharina Scheidegger, a prolific artist whom you cannot classify, and the four young Cambodian photographers whose work in progress she followed for one year, have transformed the exhibition hall of the Bophana Centre. The pictures run on the walls like a giant panoramic. Here, Pha Lina has composed his own city with the pictures he took in the streets of Phnom Penh. Lim Sokchanlina has a more conceptual view. He shows the metal and colourful shelters which hide the architectural transformations of the city and asks the visitor to imagine what is behind. Tith Narith who used a camera for the first time during this workshop offers photographs full of life he made in Borei Keila with the help of an archivist. He is a revelation. Prum Seila made a great video and photo compilation in which unknown Cambodians interviewed in the streets talk about Phnom Penh's evolution.

This exhibition is a refreshing look by Cambodians on the mutations of their capital. Let’s hope that it is the beginning of a vast reflexion on urbanism and architecture.