In Plain Sight

Vann Molyvann was instrumental in the singular modernist architecture boom that swept postindependence Cambodia, propelling Phnom Penh to a position as the ‘Pearl of South East Asia'. The country's first trained architect, Molyvann studied at Paris's School of Fine Arts, fusing the international and modern styles with traditional Khmer architecture to create New Khmer Architecture. This signature style prevailed until Lon Nol's US-backed coup in 1970, which laid the groundwork for the Khmer Rouge takeover and Molyvann's two-decade exile; while he undertook a government role after his return in 1991, he eventually resigned and became a trenchant critic of government corruption and development strategy.

Molyvann's works still dot Phnom Penh in particular, but, as recent visitors will know, Cambodia is amid a construction boom; this has already seen some of his works demolished and others endangered. Photographer Ben Hosking has made it his mission to document the results of modernism, regional cross-cultural dialogues and the safeguarding of historical and architectural heritage. In this book he finds connection between his archival preservation and Molyvann's. The imagery is indeed evocative, complemented by texts in English, French and Khmer by Imogen Eveson and Pen Sereypagna.