Maria Stott at the Bophana Center

Interview with Maria Stott

Maria Stott's first visit to Cambodia dates back to 2002. Maria spent the 4 following years in Vietnam, working as a freelance photographer. During that period, she also came back occasionally to Cambodia for work purposes. After completing a Master Degree in photographic studies in UK, Maria wanted to go back to the region and... Cambodia happened to be on the top of her list.

Maria is the founder of On Photography Cambodia (OPC), an initiative to establish a self-sustaining photographic education program in Cambodia for Cambodians by Cambodians, based on principle of research as well as cultural and ethical awareness. We really appreciated The Building – an Urban Story of Cambodia, the first photographic exhibition organized by OPC in the Bophana Center. We couldn't miss that chance to perform our first interview and know better about the OPC project...

How did you conceptualize the Building and the Participatory Photography projects?

The initial idea was to develop a project, which would communicate certain ideas about photography. The Building project was conceptualized with Participatory Photography Project as one of components. I started to collaborate with 4 young Cambodian photographers: Thy Heang, Vandy Rattana, Chna Moniroth, Cheng Meng Heing. It was always part of the concept as one of the components (history, family, participatory and professional). Considering that we are building a forum for young Cambodian photographers, communication platform for Cambodians, education association, the idea was that, whoever from that young group would like to continue photography somehow, they can continue with us. From this group of 14 young photographers who took part in this project, we continued with 10 in addition to the other people involved in the project who are the co-facilitators of the participatory project (Cheng Meng Heing and Chen Ry). I was fishing for young people who were somehow involved in photography (..). Right now, it is actually a very mixed group of people with different background and different experience of photography. For most of these 14 young people, it was their first time with photography.

You wrote that one of OPC’s aims was to “counter existing stereotypes and establish a uniquely Cambodian photographic voice”. Could you give us some representative examples of stereotypes about the Building?

Certain subjects have been dominating the media in the West and pushing photographers to stick to certain subjects. There are very few projects that are well researched, well balanced. I was trying to show that it is not about the technicality of photography, it is about the subject, the approach, your brain, your eyes and your heart really at the end of the day - what you have got to say… I think that, although it was their first time, technically some of the images were as well, if not better, as some professional photographies I have seen in my life. These photographies show the story, the way that hardly ever has been shown from the outside. That’s why participatory processes quite often are so special. You are working with people inside of the story, something that, as an outsider photographer, you would never have. On the other hand, I think it is very important to have this balance of vision from the inside and the outside as long as the vision from the outside is fruitful. It is not quite often that photographing of the other is purely work-realistic experience. As a professional photographer, I think that, in the West, there are a lot of very strict rules regarding photography, some ridiculous. A lot of photographers assume that, as long as they have crossed the borders, anything goes. Within the Building, I see people walking with cameras into people’s flat without even asking permission. Some take pictures of young women and put “caption” that it is HIV or sex workers, without even asking or exchanging a word with the subject. (..) Apart from built up of bricks, this Building is built on stereotypes.

So, regarding the Building project, what would be the main message?

I think lots of people who live there are very proud of coming from that place. I hope everyone will take from the project something else. The project hopes to show complexity of the place but also encourage people to look at it a bit closer and from different perspectives before making any judgment”. There is no “black and white” about this Building. On all different levels, social relationships, community relations, history, presence, future it is an incredible compound place.

You mean that it doesn’t make sense to talk about the Building as one entity, one community.

From the outside, the Building and its community is described often either as a slum where people often refer to the residents as sex workers, drug addicts, artists or just squatters. There is no question that those four groups exist but there are over three thousands of people living there. There are also teachers, government workers, vendors, small business holders and many others among the thousands living there. Those people have families, jobs and dreams like anyone else; they want to continue living in a place where they can continue their lives, which is more and more difficult considering uncertain future of the Building .

Some of the photographers from the project said that they had been evicted and live today in a resettlement area. Where were they living exactly?

When we started the project, there were so many young people from the Aziza School who were interested. Not all of them lived particularly in the Building. Some of them lived in the Dey Krahom area. Some people from our group lived at the Dey Krahom area, few of them have moved to the Building, starting to live with friends and the few others were relocated with their families.

Aziza School was your partner on the Participatory Photography project. Do you plan to continue working with them?

We continue working together. We have about 25 young people involved in our projects right now. For instance, we are in a process of creating a media group with Aziza School where they would be producing monthly photographic stories from the lake, the relocation sites, the Building, mainly to exchange communication between each others.

Do you have any new projects for the future?

We continue our training workshops. We are also planning further projects similar to “The Building” but now the young artists are to decide what subject they would like to approach. In the meantime, during the last year and a half, eight young Cambodian photographers collaborating with OPC were presenting their work in Bangladesh during the International Photographic Festival. One of the photographers just came back from Kuala Lumpur where she participated in Euro Asia Photographic Forum. Apart of “The Building”, we try to build support network and forum in the region and try our best to make sure that young Cambodian photographers participate in whatever happens interesting in the region photographically.

“The Building” has taken so much time. Everyone was involved preparing the exhibition and now we are slowly going back to the normal. We have few other projects that will be confirmed soon after being decided with the group. A few organizations have also approached us to conceptualize and implement projects, which should help us survive.

Thanks a lot for your time. A last word?

I would like to thank every one who donated their time and skills to make The Building project possible. I was privileged to work with some of the best and most dedicated people in Phnom Penh. Without their support and generosity this project would never happen.