Photography in Cambodia: 1866 to the Present

266 Pages·2022·108.521 MB·English

by  Nicholas Coffill

“I know many people will think I’m weird—I’m just a
young adult. Why [am I] so interested in old things from
many years ago that many teenagers aren’t interested
in? I think it’s my personality and my hobby, as well…. Yes,
I like the past—I don’t know why. It’s hard to explain.”
Srin Sokmean. Conversation with Rosa Ellen.
“Let’s Say I’m Conservative.” 7 Days. Phnom Penh Post. August 23, 2013.
“With the joy of a world-wanderer who has at last discov-
ered something picturesque, I unslung the battered relic of
a camera which I had purchased in Saigon. Immediately, as
though I had unslung a machine gun, every man, woman,
and child in Pailin fled for cover.”
A Beachcomber in the Orient. Harry L. Foster. John Lane,
The Bodley Head. London. 1923.
iv
1
ABOVE: An unknown group visiting Angkor Wat. Siem Reap. ca. 1959. Photographer unknown. Author’s Collection.
PAGE 1: Four women at the Bayon temple. Siem Reap. 1928. Photographer unknown. Philippe Damas Collection, Singapore.
P H O T O G R A P H Y

in
C A M B O D I A
1 8 6 6 to t h e P r e s e n t
NICHOLAS COFFILL
TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo Rutland, Vermont Singapore

contents
The Theater of Photography 6
Cambodia Seen Through the Photographer’s Eye 10
1860–1906 The Reign of King Norodom 24
1906 –1927 The Reign of King Sisowath 52
1927 –1941 The Reign of King Monivong 76
1941 –1955 The Reign of King Sihanouk 94
1955 –1970 The People’s Socialist Community 112
1970 –1975 Lon Nol’s Khmer Republic 146
1975 –1979 Democratic Kampuchea and the Khmer Rouge 174
1979–2000 The Republic, the United Nations, and the Kingdom 188
2000–2020 King Sihamoni and the Age of Plenitude 210
Cambodian Photographers: Where Were They? 240
The Photographers 244
The Collections 246
Acknowledgments 249
Index 252
OPPOSITE: Friends on a boat.
Battambang. 1961. Michael Vickery.