Tattoo You
Mar 5th, 2007 by Jinja
Tattoo You
From the early 1990s onward Stuart Isett has been documenting Cambodian gang youth, first in the USA, then back in Cambodia, for his series ‘Cambodian Gangs, Then and Now‘.
The first USA set hails from the early 1990s, showing the culture of California gang members, most of whom had been given ‘permanent resident’ status.
USA: http://flickr.com/photos/stuartisett/sets/72157594558926668/
Many Khmer arrivals, (and children of them) never completed navigating the Stateside bureaucracy to successfully claim full citizenship. While their families originally arrived as political refugees, there are now over 200 deportees who have been returned to Cambodia.
Cambodia: http://flickr.com/photos/stuartisett/sets/72157594564273845/
What is particularly interesting is their synthesis of USA street culture, while asserting Khmer identity. The omnipresent tattoos are a striking constrast to the traditional ones documented in Olivier de Bernon’s Yantra et Mantra (1998).
Photo above ©2007 Stuart Isett
Postscript March 16: Stuart will soon be presenting some work for Rajana Society.
