Visions of the world captured in a moment

via CAAI

Wednesday, 01 December 2010 15:00 Emilie Boulenger

INTERNATIONAL names exhibiting this week in Photo Phnom Penh include photographers working with a number of different techniques.

Mathieu Pernot, a French photographer, exhibits his work at the French Cultural Centre.

Well established in the documentary field, he presents a reflection, a memory of French cities at a time when the past was being destroyed, 40 years ago, and re-thought as “modern”.

Also at the French Cultural Centre, Raphael Dallaporta presents two versions of still life. In his studio, he has illuminated anti-personnel mines as if they were pieces of jewellery. In the streets, he also sees the sadness of thrown-away Christmas trees that have served their holiday purpose.

Nica Junker, a German photographer who lives in Tokyo, exhibits at Meta House where daily life is mixed with wonder. With poetry, play and staging, she absorbs the feeling of colours in her adopted home with an extreme finesse.

Born in Switzerland, Loan Nguyen discovered late in life her family’s origins in Vietnam. At Café No Problem, she brings her culture back to life, with emotion and modesty, in a series staged with skillful colour.

Dileep Prakash presents a portrait series called The Anglo-Indians at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. He documents stories without formalism, using a great subtlety of tones.

Svetlana Khachaturova, a Russian photographer, leads viewers into a marvellous and incomprehensible world in her exhibition. also at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Her works, Interior Landscapes and Marvellous Experience, are both serious and puzzling.

John Vink, a Belgian photographer, has decided to mark his 20 years of living in Cambodia by showing a selection of the thousands of images he has taken here. His subjects, cultural, political and social, can be seen at the Bophana Centre for Audiovisual Arts.

Gapchul Lee, a South Korean photographer, aims to capture spirits and leads us into the world of shamans, processions and rituals. His work, a troubling alliance of realism and vision, is exhibited at The Mansion.