Angkor Wat hosts South East Asia’s biggest photography festival

Field Notes from Angkor Photo — Former Magnum Photos Paris editorial director and Newsweek world news photo editor Julien Jourdes gives us his take on Angkor Photo 2014.

Working as an editor in New York on projects in Asia is always complex. You are more or less 12 hours away from everyone. Your morning is their evening and vice-versa. So I decided to jump on a 20-hour flight and 30 minute tuk-tuk ride to meet my colleagues in person at Angkor Photo, the biggest and oldest photo festival in South East Asia.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

The festival celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and took place over eight days in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is a bustling city, full of expats, tourists and backpackers, most of whom are there to visit Angkor Wat: the largest religious temple in the world, which was built by a Khmer king in the 12th century. From November 29 to December 6 2014, it was also flooded with attendees to Angkor Photo, held in town and the vast temple complex just outside the city limits.

Book Presentations

My day started with the book presentations at Loft Café, the headquarters of the festival. I really enjoyed the new book Shauna by Sean Li.

Shauna by Sean Li

Shauna by Sean Li

For three years Sean inhabited the persona of a ladyboy. Under the neon lights of Siem Reap, every bar became a set and every street, a stage. I was struck by the complexity and beauty of this project, where Li stood as a performer, director and photographer, sometimes taking the pictures, other times directing someone else to photograph, all while playing the role of Shauna full time.

Gold Coast by Ying Ang

Gold Coast by Ying Ang

Other highlights include: Ian Teh’s limited special edition book Confluence, Angkor protegee and Magnum nominee Sohrab Hura’s Life is Elsewhere, and last but not least, Ying Ang’s latest book Gold Coast.

Openings

Tuk-Tuk ride in the street of Siem Reap.

Tuk-Tuk ride through the streets of Siem Reap.

After the book presentation we jumped in a tuk-tuk across the city to one of the openings designed by festival director Jean Yves and his team. He always surprises us with the site-specific settings for the work exhibited.

A Quiet River: Construction of the Three Gorges Dam by Zeng Nian

A Quiet River: Construction of the Three Gorges Dam by Zeng Nian

A Quiet River: Construction of the Three Gorges Dam by Zeng Nian, for example, was displayed on the Siem Reap riverside.

ndangered animals in Asia.

Trading To Extinction by Patrick Brown

Patrick Brown’s Trading To Extinction was shown at night in the Royal Garden. When you arrived each visitor was equipped with a flashlight to allow them to discover the illegal trade of endangered animals in Asia, pictured on large prints scattered around the garden.

Alive, Kim Hak’s

Alive by Kim Hak

Alive, Kim Hak’s delicate exploration of his memory during the Khmer Rouge regime was just surreal. Kim stood in the very place the brutal regime had occupied 35 years earlier, surrounded by expats drinking French wine and speaking English.

Left Zalmai. Right Ruben Salgado Escudero.

Zalmai and Ruben Salgado Escudero.

The closing ceremony installation featured beautiful images from Ruben Salgado Escudero’s Solar Portraits project in Myanmar.

Projections

I jumped in another tuk-tuk and rushed to the the former French colonial governor’s mansion – which is now a trendy restaurant – to get a seat for the projections. I joined the other guests lying on a parterre of bamboo matting the size of two tennis courts in front of the screen.

jj2014_Angkor Photo Fest006

The former French colonial governor’s mansion.

A fantastic ambiance was built up around the work curated by Francoise Caille. I particularly enjoyed Patrick Chauvel’s project on Ceux du Nord, never-before-seen photographs from the Vietnam War taken by the other side: Vietnamese photographers. I cannot wait to see how audiences react to these images when they come to the United States. I overheard that Patrick Chauvel brought all the Vietnamese photographers to dinner with Don McCullin in Paris and recorded their conversations. Imagine these senior photographers talking about the same war, the same front line, but from a different side. Another memorable projection was my discovery of Alumnis. So many talented photographers have been getting a chance to express themselves through the workshop at Angkor Wat. It was beautiful to witness.

Party

jj2014_Angkor Photo Fest011

The Laundry Bar, the festival’s social hub.

Into another tuk-tuk to meet everyone at the Laundry Bar. For those familiar with Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan, it’s the ‘Café de la Poste’ of Cambodia. A big crowd is invaded the bar, the terrace, and the street to discuss photography, projects and assignments. The region seems to have more stories than photographers and that makes it an El Dorado for storytellers. After a few fancy drinks at one-dollar-a-piece I had only one regret: Why aren’t more editors from around the world coming to discover this incredible photo community?

Find out more about Angkor Photo.

Julien Jourdes is the co-founder of Blink, a real-time location platform that enables media companies to discover, connect, and organise a global network of media professionals.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Two young women making silly facial expressions, one with a grey coat and the other in a black coat, in front of a white building.
Culture

Tender, carefree portraits of young Ukrainians before the war

Diary of a Stolen Youth — On the day that a temporary ceasefire is announced, a new series from photographer Nastya Platinova looks back at Kyiv’s bubbling youth culture before Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion. It presents a visual window for young people into a possible future, as well as the past.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Four people posing for a portrait, wearing black outfits against a bright red background. The text "Hush presents Analogue Appreciation" is overlaid in yellow and green lettering.
Music

Analogue Appreciation: 47SOUL

Dualism — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s Palestinian shamstep pioneers 47SOUL.

Written by: 47SOUL

A punk rock band performing on stage, with a female lead singer belting into a microphone. Behind them, a colourful mural with graffiti-style text.
Music

Meet the hair-raised radicals of Berlin’s noise punk scene

Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy of the German capital’s bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Group of people dancing at a live music performance, with a large "Spaces Beats" sign in the background.
Music

Amid tensions in Eastern Europe, young Latvians are reviving their country’s folk rhythms

Spaces Between the Beats — The Baltic nation’s ancient melodies have long been a symbol of resistance, but as Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, new generations of singers and dancers are taking them to the mainstream.

Written by: Jack Styler

A person's face surrounded by colourful flowers. The flowers include orange, red, and yellow dahlias, as well as smaller yellow blooms. The person's expression is serious.
Music

Uwade: “I was determined to transcend popular opinion”

What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Nigerian-born, South Carolina-raised indie-soul singer Uwade.

Written by: Uwade

Taxidermy alligator with a small monkey sitting on its head, displayed on a wooden shelf with other items.
Culture

Inside the obscured, closeted habitats of Britain’s exotic pets

“I have a few animals...” — For his new series, photographer Jonty Clark went behind closed doors to meet rare animal owners, finding ethical grey areas and close bonds.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.