After a long time last week I visited the current Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide (former high school, Pol Pot's secret prison) again and I decided to photograph from different point of view. These photos are from the series of S-21 Requiem, which part of the "Remember" project. I took a picture of the original photos already taken by the prison photographers and relocated in a new environment (I mean digitally modified my original photos I took in the S-21). Emotionally was more difficult to create these dramatic images, than taking pictures in the "Museum" about the randomly chosen photos. I saw giggling Khmer students in front the photos of tortured prisoners. There are several picture sign outside on each building wall “Don’t Laugh". It was very strange for me, but now I understand why. There's a lots of thing to do for the Ministry of Education, the Community leaders, NGO’s, School directors, Teachers and Parents, etc... in this country.
Between 1975 -79 as many as 30.000 prisoners Khmer and foreigners were held, starved to death, tortured, or killed in S-21. The innocent girl name on the middle photo is Bophana. You can read more about her if you buy Elizabeth Becker's book "Love in the Time of the Khmer Rouge".
