Phnom Penh & Exhibition: Micheline Dullin, the luminous memory of a Cambodia in transformation at the National Museum

From November 19 to December 19, 2025, the Photo Phnom Penh festival offers the Cambodian public and photography enthusiasts worldwide a unique immersion into Phnom Penh in the 1960s thanks to the exhibition dedicated to Micheline Dullin, a pioneer of visual reportage in Cambodia.

Micheline DULLIN, Construction of the stadium and its inhabitants, between 1958 and 1964

Cambodia seen by an exceptional artist

Before becoming the official photographer of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Micheline Dullin was a painter and an active member of the Parisian artistic community. Her shift to photography began with a Rolleiflex camera given by filmmaker Alain Resnais and was established upon her arrival in Phnom Penh in 1958, following her husband sent on a UNESCO mission. Quickly, her curious and empathetic eye captures the many facets of a rapidly changing Cambodian capital. She documents major projects such as Vann Molyvann’s Olympic Stadium or the Japanese bridge but never forgets the men and women who bring these to life: workers, residents of Bassac, monks, families, and anonymous people.

A rare testimony to daily life

At that time, Phnom Penh shone with a new modernity, with ambitious urban projects. Micheline Dullin’s unprecedented aerial views—of the White Building, now disappeared, or Boeung Kak lake before it was drained—constitute a precious historical legacy. But she does not limit herself to vast spaces: her lens also captures the warmth of markets, the intimacy of street scenes, and the tranquility of surrounding countryside.

Micheline DULLIN, Monks and Cambodians in front of the central market, between 1958 and 1964

A woman with a unique gaze in a male world

Standing out as a professional photographer, at a time and in a space largely dominated by men, speaks to Micheline Dullin’s boldness and determination. She becomes involved in local life, frequents artisans and workers, and creates series that mix documentary rigor with a sharp sense of humanity. In her works, each face, each gesture holds a story, a collective memory. "One is a photographer," she asserted, refusing any restrictive label.

The art of black and white and square format

Her photos stand out for a subtle balance of contrasts and a mastered composition, often in a square format. The black and white highlights the unique vibration of Cambodian light, capturing nuances and emotions with rare intensity. This style, oscillating between documentary rigor and pictorial poetry, gives her images a timeless dimension.

Transmission and commemoration

The exhibition at the National Museum of Cambodia takes on a particular significance in 2025: it is part of a commemorative year, marking half a century since the arrival of the Khmer Rouge and the ensuing tragedies. Micheline Dullin’s photographs bear witness to a "happy Cambodia disappeared," as historians recall, and become an essential key to understanding the dramatic changes that marked the country. Workshops, screenings, and roundtables organized around the exhibition aim to raise awareness among the younger generation, perpetuate memory, and create dialogue between survivors and their descendants.

A living legacy

Micheline Dullin’s late recognition—exhibitions in Aulnay-sous-Bois in 2012, Martigues in 2023, and at the Photo Phnom Penh festival since 2013—attests to the strength and importance of her work. She died in 2020 at age 93, leaving behind nearly fifty years of archives and precious memories for Cambodia and the international community.

Biography

Micheline Dumoulin, known as Dullin, born in Paris in 1927, graduated from the Beaux-Arts, traveled in Bolivia, Peru, Laos, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Her professional life began as a painter, then she devoted herself to documentary photography until the end of her stay in Asia in 1965 before returning to France where she continued her cultural and artistic commitment.

The exhibition: an invitation to reconnect with the past

The series presented at the National Museum of Cambodia allows visitors to explore luminous snapshots, full of tenderness and dignity, embodying Phnom Penh before the civil war, from modernization to the dawn of upheavals. Walking through the exhibition, the public encounters faces, gestures, and places that today form the inscribed memory of Cambodia. A legacy worth transmitting, sharing, and celebrating.