Chum Mey S21 Survivor

Returning to a work in progress portrait photography project Dreamyland with this picture of Chum Mey. Chum May is one of 3 left alive today of just a few who survived the infamous Phnom Penh security prison known as S21 during the Khmer Rouge era in 70s Cambodia. An estimated 20000 men. women and children were tortured at the former Phnom Penh high school in Tuol Sleng district, before execution at Chung Ek on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, one of the many killing fields found across the country.

Most days Chum Mey can be found speaking with tourists and selling his autobiographical book “Survivor” at the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum along with fellow survivor Bou Meng.

I came across this informative 2016 BBC article by Kirstie Brewer about the two survivors at S21.

Portrait Photography in Cambodia

Still a work in progress, additional Cambodian portraits and refinements of existing portraits can be seen in the Dreamyland gallery. I plan to expand the number of images and diversity of subjects, also to refine the technique.

Big shout out to Bunsak But on the retouching and post production end. We hope to exhibit the series one day.

Studio Portrait of Tauch Lon's dad

As with the "Dreamyland" environmental portrait photographs, this one was shot with what is known as a Joel Grimes edgy lighting style.

The Dreamyland series utilises studio portraiture, landscape photography and composite techniques usually associated with commercial advertising photography, aiming to blur the aesthetic boundaries between fine art photography, social realism and the advertising world. The photographic techniques deployed were inspired by commercial advertising photography, particularly by the portrait photographs of sportsmen and women created by LA based commercial advertising photographer Joel Grimes.

I decided to keep this one simple without a background place or landscape. The portrait is of the late Tauch Leng who sadly died July 2015 at the age of 75, my assistant Tauch Lon's father, from puhm Chrey Toiche in Kandal province. Leng was a typical Cambodian rice farmer and often trendy wedding musician back in the day, who like all Cambodians of his age lived through and survived the atrocious Khmer Rouge era.