I first visited Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in , where I stumbled across a young street-prostitute prospecting along the Mekong River. I became struck and ultimately haunted by the look of despair and desolation in her eyes.
I returned home to Sydney, Australia, and did research on sex slavery in Phnom Penh. Prior to returning I emailed two of the largest NGOs in the region for some advice, but frustratingly received no reply, so further down the rabbit hole I dived. I wrote down the names of the infamous areas of Phnom Penh and upon arriving in Phnom Penh I got on the back of a motor bike of a friend and told her to take me to these places.
Every one of those places, she told me not to go alone or to go there at night. I did both. I stayed initially for twenty-one days. The moment I take any photograph, I become personally involved. I also believe every photograph of this nature, to a degree, is a self-portrait.
The hand-writing is as important as the photograph. Having the text as a part of the photograph is giving the women their voice, their message to us, the viewer, in no ambiguous terms.
I never want my work to give answers. Art for me should always be a question mark. What matters to me, and always has, is the feedback from the women and the people from the NGO who guided me over the 3.
