Cambodia: Longevity and Ancient Ritual within a Khmer Community is a current long term project which explores the concept of Buddhist faith, longevity, death and the afterlife in a small community of widows and widowers in the province of Siem Reap. The community is called Khok Tamol and from Khmer its literal translation means “lsland of Grandfathers” Khok Tamol is a sanctuary for elderly Khmers, mainly women, who come here to live, pray and meditate. Their possessions are very few yet displayed with much care. Many have come here to escape the modern day pressures of family life. Many will stay until the end of their natural lives. A series of small one room concrete huts surround a small temple pagoda. The single room is screened to provide toilet facilities. Daily routine is simple: prayer and meditation, the preparation
of food for themselves and the many dogs that have congregated here. The sense of community is very strong. This is a place I have visited many times. On each visit the surroundings have changed, sometimes new members occupy the huts of previous occupants who have died. It takes time to overcome the member’s shyness enough for them to be photographed – which is understandable considering they came here to escape the prying
eyes of the real world. For me it represents an insight into an ancient Khmer culture and how it deals with the concept of approaching old age, infirmity, loneliness and eventually death.
The images were shot on Kodak Tri-X using Leica M, Nikon S and Plaubel Makina 670 rangefinder cameras.
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