Two Oceans — Kannetha Brown

The photographs in this series were made in Providence, Rhode Island and its neighboring cities from the winter of 2022 to the spring of 2023. Two Oceans centers portraits of families, friends, and individuals within my circle of first-generation Cambodian Americans and their parents. Rhode Island is home to a large Southeast Asian population. Mostly Cambodians, many of them share ties with my mother, a locally-known nurse practitioner who was born in Cambodia. Being from the smallest state, each of the people I photograph are interconnected, and are sequenced by links with the previous person exhibited.

In the 1970s, after taking power during the Cambodian Civil War, the Khmer Rouge committed genocide against 3 million Cambodians. Their communist regime darkened Cambodia’s photographic history by using black and white film and darkroom printing to document their victims. Struck by this, as well as the lack of uplifting representation of Asians in the history of American black and white photography, I intentionally utilized the 8 x 10 large format camera and black and white film to make this work. While keeping the past alive in the details, I provide an intimate look into a new story of my community’s perseverance, and their pride for their roots in two places at once.

My Mother and Grandmother, Barrington, RI. 2022. (Holding my mom's wallet insert, my grandma presents two photographs of herself before the Khmer Rouge genocide, and an a photo taken by the Khmer Rouge of my mom's sister, who died in concentration camp.)

Mother Fruits, Barrington, RI. 2023. (My mother plucks jackfruit from a tray of various fruits that remind her of home, the motherland.)

Mr. Ting and Sophia, Warwick, RI. 2022. (My friend's daughter and her grandfather enjoy fishing at Conimicut Park.)

Mr. Ting, Warwick, RI. 2023. (My friend's father in his apartment, playing the tro for me.)

Mr. Ting's Memories, Warwick, RI. 2022. (My friends' father, Chan, makes collages of photographs, ranging from his time as monk in Cambodia to the birth of his granddaughter.)

Peter Ting with A Photograph his Mother, Cranston, RI. 2022. (My friend Peter holds a photograph of his late mother, Sophia, at the Dhamagosnaram Buddhist Temple, where her ashes are kept. A ceremony was held here on the day of her funeral, and for 100 day after.)

Jay Khamvongsouk, Providence, RI. 2022. (My friend Jay is a locally-known DJ in Providence, posing beneath the city's infamous highway ramps.)

Chris Chea and Song Kim, Warwick, RI. 2023. (My friend Kru (Coach) Kim is the owner of Rogue Island Combat, a Cambodian boxing gym. Here, he wraps his student Sgt. Chris Chea's hands.)

Sgt. Chris Chea and his Grandmother, Fall River, MA. 2023. (After coming to the US, my friend Chris' grandma, Any, started many Cambodian restaurants, retiring with Soriya Market which became a second home for their family. Out of her many grandchildren, Chris proudly visits and helps her the most.)

Danny Chum, Johnston, RI. 2023. (Danny is the owner of Empire Studio RI.)

Saroeuy Muy with Memories of her Husband, Attleboro, MA. 2022. (My friend Shannel was raised by her grandparents Saroeuy and Duong. When she was three, Duong passed in the living room where we made this image. Shannel constantly feels his presence as her guardian angel.)

Altar in Memory of Makthra Men, Cranston, RI. 2023. (This altar in my friend Kanika's home honors her late older brother, Makthra. This altar is a way to keep his memory alive.)