Cambodia Project

Final Major Project Posts
  • Final Major Project – Grades – Where To, Now? January 15, 2020
    Well, it’s all over! My overall grade for the Final major Project module was 72.9% – my best yet. Encouragingly, the results against the Learning Objectives ...
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  • Installation Photos December 9, 2019
    I have taken a series of installation shots, which I hope to use in future ‘marketing’ to see if I can get further shows in ...
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  • Opening Night December 9, 2019
    The main ‘private viewing’ was Friday, 6th December, from 6pm until 8:30 pm. I was very pleased to have between 70-75 guests, and in particular ...
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  • Installation – Layout and Display Boards October 20, 2019
    Having pretty much settled the main wall hanging and sequence, I needed to turn my attention to the information boards. Whilst the show is focused ...
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  • The People’s Vote October 2, 2019
    Data is an interesting thing, and not something one normally associates with artistic endeavours. Yet, just as we get feedback on our work from tutors, ...
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  • Webinar with Wendy – Sept 25th September 25, 2019
    Had a good webinar with Wendy today. I started by saying that I was quite pleased with how things had developed, and could now see ...
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  • Finalising the images September 23, 2019
    As previously noted, thanks to input from both Gem and Richard Young (a fellow member of the PhotoBath collective), I think I had a bit ...
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  • PhotoBath ‘Witness’ Exhibition September 14, 2019
    The PhotoBath Witness exhibition is on from October 1st until the 6th. As previously noted, one of my images was selected by the curators (Benedict ...
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  • Tutorial with Krishna August 21, 2019
    Very good conversation last evening with Krishna and Ash. Both were encouraging about the status of my FMP. We discussed the use of quotes as an ...
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  • Book material samples August 20, 2019
    I have just got the samples from Phnom Penh. Whilst I had seen paper samples and such when there, I had not seen a completed ...
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  • Multi-media August 20, 2019
    I finally got around to working through some ‘road trip’ photography from my last Cambodia visit. When Simeth and I were driving north, I decided ...
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  • Portfolios of Stories August 19, 2019
    I have started thinking about Wendy’s challenge – to create mini-portfolios of the Unfinished Stories – to help the creative juices flow, look at ways ...
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  • Week Eleven Reflections August 19, 2019
    I spent a great deal of time working through the book this past week, and in particular making sure the Cambodian History was accurate and ...
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  • National Library of Cambodia August 15, 2019
    Header image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Library_of_Cambodia#/media/File:National_Library_-_panoramio_(1).jpg .. Creative Commons License
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  • Week Ten Reflections August 13, 2019
    It is the ‘final’ push on the Book at the moment – Vicky is hoping to get the file updated this weekend. I am still awaiting ...
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  • Exhibition Print August 10, 2019
    I ordered an A1 sized print from Loxley, using their premium metallic/perspex finish. It was completed and delivered within 4 working days. As noted before, ...
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  • Stereotypes and Navajo August 9, 2019
    Photography’s Other Histories, edited by Christopher Pinney and Nicolas Peterson, is a well-researched work covering a lot of ground on two broad issues – the ...
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  • Archives August 6, 2019
    For both the book and the exhibition, I want to illustrate some of the history of Cambodia, and especially the Khmer Rouge years.. My own ...
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  • At the mercy of HM Government … August 4, 2019
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  • PhotoBath Showcase 4 August 4, 2019
    The curation team have chosen four of my images for the upcoming Showcase book, with a different selection to the RPS Contemporary Group. I need ...
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  • Without Honor – Arnold J Isaacs August 2, 2019
    The U.S. intervention was a military, political strategic, and moral catastrophe for which only Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, not the acts of ...
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  • RPS Contemporary Group August 2, 2019
    I had noted in May that the RPS Contemporary Group planned to publish some of my work. Well, on returning from Rencontres d’Arles and vacation, ...
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  • Week Eight Reflections July 28, 2019
    This was our first visit to Rencontres d’Arles, and it will not be the last. A terrific experience. The venues and presentation puts Paris Photo, ...
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  • Angkor Chum July 18, 2019
    One story that will not feature in the book is one that concerns our family. It also is an exercise in rephotography, in the sense ...
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  • FMP Proposal feedback from Wendy July 17, 2019
    Had a good conversation with Wendy of my proposal for FMP. Feedback was good, and I think the proposal (and project) was well received. Wendy ...
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  • First Book Spreads July 16, 2019
    The content of the book is coming along, and Vicky has been doing some design layouts, which look great. This evening, she created a series of ...
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  • A Sense of Place July 13, 2019
    I have been reading James Tyner’s book, The Killing of Cambodia: Geography, Genocide and the Unmasking of Space. It is well established that in defining Year Zero, ...
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  • Sarath – Earliest Photographs July 3, 2019
    Sarath and his family destroyed any photographs they had during the Khmer Rouge years, for fear of being interrogated about their past. He has been ...
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  • Cambodia Historical Timeline July 2, 2019
    I have completed a thorough update of the historical timeline, cross checked with multiple official and academic sources. I expect to use the most relevant items ...
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  • Roland Neveu July 1, 2019
    Roland Neveu, a journalist born in Brittany, and now living in Bangkok, took many iconic photographs of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh, in ...
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  • Legal Complexities – the ECCC June 30, 2019
    In 2003 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution approving a proposed agreement reached between the UN and Cambodia concerning the prosecution of those ...
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  • DC-Cam Archives June 30, 2019
    As part of the FMP Installation, I intend to have a section on the history of the Khmer Rouge. The Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam), ...
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  • Cambodian History June 25, 2019
    As part of any installation, public discussion or book, I need to ensure that the presentation of the facts of history are totally correct. This ...
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  • FMP Project Proposal June 22, 2019
    Submitted the Proposal, timeline and Risk assessment Downloadable here: FMP Final Project Proposal & Risk Assessment ………………….. Header: Mick Yates. 2001. Ta Prohm, Angkor.
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  • Print Exploration June 22, 2019
    For a few years, I have used Loxley Colour in Scotland as my exhibition printer, and they are the provider for any customer orders taken ...
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  • Cambodia Project Ethics June 17, 2019
    There are several layers in any ethical discussion of photographs. I am researching new ways to address these issues, with global relevance. This includes research ...
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  • Lewis Bush – Storytelling Workshop June 16, 2019
    I attending a workshop this weekend with Lewis Bush, on Storytelling. A little while ago I had written on ‘Narrative versus Story‘, which included some ...
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  • FMP Week One Reflections June 9, 2019
    Well, here we go. the end of the first week of Final Major Project, although (based on my CRJ writings), it does seem to have ...
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  • Venue for FMP Installation June 7, 2019
    I got confirmation today that I have two weeks at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, December 4th onwards (effectively until Christmas).  This is ...
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  • Pecha Kucha Feedback June 5, 2019
    Had the first proper 1-1 with Wendy on the FMP, around the Pecha Kucha. I think it’s fair to say Wendy really liked the presentation and ...
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  • Pecha Kucha June 4, 2019
     1 In 1994 we made our first visit to Cambodia. Here is the beautiful Ta Prohm, in Angkor. But we soon realised that the country was ...
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  • My Practice and Slide Film June 2, 2019
    In the FMP, I will be re-looking at my photographic and other archives. Pretty much from the start of my photography, I used 35mm slide film. ...
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  • Webinar with Wendy April 30, 2019
    Had a very good ‘kick-off’ conversation with Wendy, today. We talked a little about the FMP process, and where I was on the Cambodian project. I ...
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  • Book Design Inspiration April 30, 2019
    In searching for inspiration for the book design, Vicky found Anna Kremenetskaya’s work, for a book on the Berlin Wall. We were both taken by ...
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Positions & Practice Posts
  • Traces April 17, 2018
    I am considering ways to use post-processing in the representation of traces, as part of the Cambodia project. The intent is to heighten emotional engagement ...
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  • Positions and Practice Oral Presentation – Final April 1, 2018
     YouTube Original April 17th, 1975, after years of war, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. Within twenty-four hours they emptied the city of 2 million people, and ...
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  • The Cruel Radiance – Susie Linfield March 18, 2018
    I just read The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political violence, by Susie Linfield (University of Chicago Press, 2010), and found it totally fascinating. Essentially, Linfield ...
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  • Oral Presentation – Draft March 8, 2018
     April 17th, 1975, after years of war, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. Within twenty four hours they emptied the city of around 2 million people, ...
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  • The Camera as Judge and Executioner February 15, 2018
    Archiving the Unspeakable, by Michelle Caswell, is a fascinating read. It deals with the role of photographic archives in the activities of the Khmer Rouge ...
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  • Other than … Year Zero February 4, 2018
    In April 1994, Ingrid and I first visited Cambodia, with our three youngest children. Michala was 6, Victoria was 4, and Dan was just over ...
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  • Possible Cambodia documentary project January 24, 2018
    We first visited Cambodia in 1994, with our three youngest children, Michala, Vicky & Dan. Dan was 18 months old at the time. And we ...
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Informing & Contexts Posts
Surfaces & Strategies Posts
  • Book Dummy August 20, 2018
    Now that I have completed selection of images for the Work in Progress portfolio, and finished Landings, it seemed right to update the book dummy. I ...
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  • Week Ten Reflections – Landscape, Context and WIP August 12, 2018
    My reflections this week are about my photographic approach to ‘aftermath’. Christian Schwager, a Swiss photographer, made a series My Lovely Bosnia (2003 – 2005), around the still-present ...
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  • Negative Traces August 5, 2018
    The impact of the Genocide of 1975-1979 is still, in many ways, hidden. It is visible only in traces, both physical and psychological. My project is ...
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  • Week Nine reflections – Cambodian Narrative August 4, 2018
    It was a very busy but productive time in Cambodia. My reflections this week (partly whilst sitting on the plane home) are about clarifying the narrative. ...
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  • Week Eight Reflections – Cambodia – My Practice July 29, 2018
    Another intense week. I left London on Saturday morning, having completed a 4 day, full-on shoot with Andrew Mlangeni. I arrived in Phnom Penh on Sunday ...
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  • Conversation with Lukas Birk July 13, 2018
    Following an introduction from Cemre, had a terrific conversation today with Lukas Birk. I explained a little of my background, motivations and the Cambodia project itself. These ...
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  • Negatives July 12, 2018
    Interesting webinar with Cemre, Sarah, Danny & Ant. We were sharing our exhibition thinking, including Landings. Amongst other things, I shared the experimental ‘negatives’ work ...
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  • Installation July 11, 2018
    Just trying to pull together some ideas on a possible installation – not for August, as part of Landings, but looking to the future. I envisage ...
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  • Showing the Hidden July 4, 2018
    The Landings Exhibition is in preparation, and there is a call for entries. At the same time, I am continuing to explore the idea of ‘traces’ ...
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  • Cambodia – 2000 July 2, 2018
    This week I am going through the archives, for rephotography purposes, as on my next trip I will be travelling up to Anlong Veng, and ...
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  • Ghosts, Traces & Stories June 9, 2018
    I am looking for ways to tell today’s story whilst also bringing yesterday’s in front of the viewer. Anyone who has visited a Genocide Museum, anywhere ...
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  • It’s Not All About Genocide June 8, 2018
    It has always been my intent to go back and re-imagine the journey that we took with Sarath, though I have, to now, seen that ...
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  • A Place Over Time June 4, 2018
    In the first week of Surfaces & Strategies, we were asked to consider a ‘Place over Time’, with these steps: Choose a previously made image that ...
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Sustainable Prospects Posts
  • Week Nine Reflections – Reconciliation November 23, 2018
    My main reflections at the moment are about reconciliation. First, how to I reconcile my work in Cambodia as a photographer, with that of an educator? ...
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  • S-21 Data November 21, 2018
    Youk Chhang, of DC-Cam (Documentation Center of Cambodia), provided me with data coming from research associated with the UN sponsored Tribunal. In a 2017 email, he ...
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  • Week Seven Reflections – Paris Photo November 14, 2018
    It was the week of a Falmouth Face to Face around Paris Photo, which we combined with family time in the city. Here’s my reflections ...
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  • Week Six Reflections – Part Two November 5, 2018
    I sometimes try to separate the photographic focus of the MA, and my personal role as a ‘Cambodian Educator’, of almost twenty years standing, as ...
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  • Week Six Reflections – Part One November 5, 2018
    These are some thoughts on week two of my Cambodia trip. As noted last week, the main purpose is to see how much progress I can make ...
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  • A Prayer from Hell November 5, 2018
    In Phnom Penh last week, I met Youk Chhang for the first time. The visit including a lot of such networking activities, in order to ...
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  • Gatiloke, Genocide and the Narrative November 3, 2018
    After an intense but (I believe) successful two weeks in Cambodia, there are many things I need to write about. There is however an overarching ...
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  • Week Five Reflections – Cambodia October 27, 2018
    The focus of the week was Cambodia. I arrived on Wednesday, from London via Singapore. From our home to the hotel takes about 22 hours. ...
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  • Meet Someone New October 25, 2018
    I am responding here to the ‘Meet Someone New” challenge. This is alway a good idea, though I must admit I have preferred usually to do ...
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