Ladies at the Russian Market (2008)

I went to the Russian Market today to start work on a long term photo story. I know LOTS of people have taken pictures there, but I’ve never seen any substantive body of work to tell the story of the place. That’s what I’d like to do.

I brought a photograph that I took almost three years ago (see above). It wasn’t hard to find the shop, and though I didn’t recognize the woman behind the counter, she recognized herself in the picture immediately. That was exciting! Other vendors came, they rounded up another one of the ladies pictured, and they all talked about what has changed, and pointed out several things that haven’t. I told her my intention to visit the market regularly, and she seemed very supportive, as was everyone else I talked with. I spent more time talking than using the camera, which suited me fine. I have time for that later. It was great just practicing Khmer and starting to build the relationships I’ll need to do this story well.

This is the woman in the middle of the picture above. She started to give me a lesson in Khmer language, or cooking, based on this plant.

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My daughters have a flair for drama. They all disappeared upstairs one day and came down in fantastic outfits and covered with face paint. Reia dressed up Maika in hearts, and I’ve given her an extra dose of angst in this black and white effect.

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This is just a taste of a story I hope to complete this year (2011).　It’s about more than colorful performances, but that’s part of it. I hope to portray the community of people who make up Sovanna Phum: their art, their energy, and their real lives. I want to see how they relate with Phnom Penh and how they stand apart from the city. I think it’s going to be a very interesting journey. I have quite a few hopes for this story as it develops  (publication, exhibitions, etc.). Mostly I’m just thinking about what it will take to get it done well.

Before the show

Laughter backstage as the drum troupe gets dressed and ready

A dancer waits for her cue

Shadow puppets behind the screen

A drama unfolds

Monkey dancers provide comic relief

The audience (a small one this night) reacts to the monkey dancers

Shadows of actors and puppets in conflict

Holding candles behind the screen creates beauty and tension onstage

An actor/dancer makes a quick costume and make-up change

Nearing the climax during a performance of Roussey Dek, a beautiful mixed piece

Shadow puppets battle behind the screen

Not to be taken too seriously, a drum performance ends with smiles all around

Most of the receipts, varying between “enough” and  “meager,” are divided among the artists

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For many years, Sovanna Phum has been preserving and extending the traditional arts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Sovanna Phum. Shadow puppetry is a mainstay of Sovanna Phum, along with classical dance, drums, music, and sometimes a circus troupe. The shadow puppets and drums are made by hand on site. Even the tools used to craft them are made there over a charcoal powered blaze. Recently the association started a project to renew their stock of large shadow puppets, and I am following the story–along with photographing the weekend performances and the lives of the traditional artists.

I started working on a larger story about Sovanna Phum early this year (2011). There are many potential behind the scenes stories and angles: the Sovanna Phum Association and its hard work and history, the making of shadow puppets (and drums), the colors and vitality of traditional arts in Phnom Penh, the real lives and struggles of the artists themselves (including more than one art families), and Phnom Penh as a city yearning to reemerge as a cultural center in Asia again.

I’d love to get some of these stories published and exhibited in different venues.

Here are a few photographs of shadow puppets being made.

Children and shadows, practicing before a mixed dance and shadow puppets performance

Skins are purchased weekday mornings for drums and shadow puppets

The leather is stretched on a rack in the morning then tanned for days in the sun

The puppet patterns are hand drawn by Kosal, co-founder and director of Sovanna Phum

Puppets are punched out slowly taking many hours and days depending on the size

It takes another person more hours to finish and stain them

Making and repairing the tools

Large shadow puppets in action during at weekend performance at Sovanna Phum

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I started working on this story last month (Feb, 2011). I’d love to finish it well and get it published. It’s a behind the scenes story (with individual stories) of hard work and hope we can all relate to but few ever see this way.

Cambodians are streaming into Phnom Penh every day looking for a new start in the big city. Young people come to attend universities and vocational school. They all have dreams that begin with finding a way to make money.  This story is about a vocational school that trains students how to repair cars and  motorcycles. Two or three hundred students are crammed inside at any given time. They range from young kids straight off the farm to well-worn men in their forties. Each can graduate with a certificate as soon as they master the material and pass the tests. They pay a relatively low one time fee that’s good for as long as they want to stay. Most live upstairs free of charge, cooking and caring for themselves: no alcohol is permitted and the doors are locked every night at 7pm. Many vocational schools in Phnom Penh are scams; they prey on people from the countryside. But this school has qualified teachers and the graduates really find jobs. It’s a struggle, but it’s paying off.

Here are a few photographs to give a sense of where this could go.

Re-assembling a motorcycle engine as other students observe

Each student has a unique story to tell

A teacher supervises students working on car engines

Studying after hours

Lunchtime

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