HappenArt

Mak Remissa
Photographer
Location: Phnom Pen (Cambodia)

MAK Remissa is considered one of the most successful Khmer photographers of his generation. He awarded his first and third places in the 1997 National Photojournalism Competition, organized by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club and chaired by Phillip Jones Griffiths, as a major catalyst for his career.
Currently working as a photojournalist for the European Press Photo Agency (EPA), his work is often seen on international news channels. His 2005 art photography exhibition, titled after a traditional Khmer proverb: “When the water rises, the fish eats the ant; when the water recedes, the ant eats the fish ”, has been shown in Phnom Penh galleries such as Popil and Java, as well as at the Angkor Photo Festival. Born in 1970, Remissa and his family were displaced from Phnom Penh five years later by the Khmer Rouge and resettled in Takeo province.

Reuters.

In 1995, he graduated in Fine Arts and Photography from the Royal School of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, and his work quickly appeared in numerous publications such as Cambodge Soir and the Phnom Penh Post.
He also worked for Reuters and other organizations. Remissa has exhibited his fine art photography in Cambodia, France, Canada and the United States, and after spending a few years in Canada, he returned to live and record events in his country of birth. Seven pieces from Remissa’s work Fish and Ants have recently been added to the permanent collection of the Singapore Art Museum.