This book marks the end of ten years of photography by Philong Sovan, a talented young Cambodian photographer, on the nightlife in his country. His work began in 2010 in Siem Reap. Close to the temples of Angkor, the city beats to the rhythm of tourism during the day. The photographer wonders what the city looks like once the tourists are asleep and the non-existent street lighting leaves it in the shadows. From neighborhood to neighborhood, he tirelessly travels on his small motorcycle, flushing out in the light of his headlight a world he was unaware of. His quest soon extends to Phnom Penh. In a photographic style full of dense colors and precise framing, playing with the weak lights of human activity augmented only by those of his vehicle, he paints a portrait of Cambodian urban life that is both dense and floating, and full of astonishment for the people whose existence he briefly shares…
The book is accompanied by a text by Christian Caujolle, who discovered his work and contributed to the international recognition of Cambodian photography.
------
This book completes a ten years work by Philong Sovan, a young and gifted Cambodian photographer who has been documenting his country's nightlife. This work started in 2010 in Siem Reap, the neighboring city of Angkor temples, the heart of which beats with tourism during daytime. Philong then wondered what the city looks like when tourists are asleep and when it is kept in obscurity by the lack of street lightning. He began drifting tirelessly from one side of the city to the other on his small motorbike, in the headlight of which an unknown world emerged. His rides soon extended to Phnom Penh. With his intensely colored and meticulously framed photographs, playing with the faint light of human activity only enhanced by the one of his vehicle, he provides a picture of Cambodian urban life that is at once dense and floating, tinged with his astonishment for the people with whom he briefly crosses paths.
With an essay by Christian Caujolle, who discovered Philong's work and contributed to Cambodian photography's international recognition.
© Le bec en l'air editions