FRIDAY 4 | It can be painfully obvious in everyday life, but portraying corruption is easier said than done. Elizabeth Johnson, of Transparency International Cambodia, stresses the need for anonymity among photographers in a new exhibition exploring the issue. “The primary target group for this is young Cambodians. Given the latest UN figures, 65% of the population is under the age of 30 so we see young people here as the agents of change. Because corruption is on all levels of society, we want to get more people talking and thinking and changing existing structures. We saw this as a fun and creative way to get people to do this. We write reports and present them in a particular way and they’ll be read by policymakers and students, but in a way they’re not going to reach out to everybody. A photographic representation – and art – can engage people in different ways. It can be an agent that can cause reflection for change.” Pisal Poch, an intern with the organisation, first learned about the concept during an economics course. “I started to see how society works… and how the distribution of welfare affects everyone. I could see tiny loopholes: looking at the definitions of corruption, it’s all about the way people use their power to take the welfare of people without power. I started to see the root of the problem of most of the society. I think, as one of the younger generation, if we don’t do anything to minimise this issue it will probably be worse for my sons and grandsons. We’re trying to represent the negative effect because it’s allowing people to visualise their own understanding of corruption in their environment. That’s one of the reasons: the connection between the photograph itself and how to get people to understand corruption.”
WHO: The ethically sound
WHAT: The Negative Effects Of Corruption In Cambodia photo exhibition opening
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos Blvd.
WHEN: 6:30pm April 4
WHY: “The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.” – Kurt Cobain