KIM Hak

"Alive (2014 – Présent)"

Bophana Center

November 19 — December 19

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“Alive” is a long-term photography project about memories tied to objects. Both memories

and objects endured through Cambodian history and the Khmer Rouge regime.

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“Why objects?”

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On April 17, 1975, the day the Lon Nol government fell in Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge

entered Phnom Penh and ordered the city’s two million residents into the countryside.

People were able to take only a few of their belongings, such as clothes, cooking utensils, a

few pieces of jewelry and above all, photographs to remember their loved ones. Most of the

objects featured in Kim Hak’s photographs were used by families before the war, during the

Khmer Rouge regime, at the border camps, and then travelled on a long journey with the

victims and survivors to new lands, continuing to be used as everyday items. Each

photograph has a clue that leads to a true story behind each object. The objects have been

reclaimed, dug out of the ground after the Pol Pot period, or they have been kept throughout

the families’ lives.

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This project is a race against the clock because living witnesses are gradually disappearing.

This many decades after the regime, the elders who experienced that time period have

begun to pass away. If these living witnesses of the war pass away with their experiences

undocumented, those memories will be lost. Without learning from the past, we risk

repeating the same mistakes. As such, preserving these memories are important not just for

Cambodians but for all of humanity. Photography is one way to capture these memories of

human history, to ensure they are not forgotten.

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All these photographs and objects are deeply significant. They are evidence of a past time in

history. War can kill victims, but it cannot erase the memories of the survivors. The memories

must be kept alive, known and shared in the consciousness of human beings, and preserved

as heritage for future generations.

Artistic Director, Rithy Panh ; Curator, Moeng Meta.

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Bio

A renowned Cambodian photographer, Kim Hak was born on May 5, 1981, in Battambang,

in the north of the country, two years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. He grew up

listening to his parents’ testimonies about that period. Today, his artistic practice aims to

raise awareness of his country’s history — to remember, reclaim, and reinterpret Cambodia’s

social history before, during, and after the Khmer Rouge era.

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His work addresses a wide range of themes related to Cambodia’s cultural fabric: survivor

stories — memory, refugee camps, host countries, diasporas, healing, community, humanity,

and rebirth — as well as visual anthropology, the funeral of the late King Sihanouk,

architectural documentation, and the changing landscape of his homeland.

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His works have been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries across Asia, Oceania,

Europe, Canada, and the United States. His work has been shown at international art and

photography festivals and published in several leading photography journals.

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