Capturing LIFE and the RAILS

Conor Wall's photographs of daily life near railroads have moved from the hands of the residents he shot to the gallery walls of Gasolina for an exhibit that is part of "Our City," a month-long series of artistic events dedicated to architecture and the development of Cambodia

"It started two years ago when I used to walk along the rails next to Boeng Kak lake taking photos," Mr Wall said. "I use to print the photos for the locals and go back again and again, shooting and returning prints." "life Along the Rails," a partnership with land rights NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, documents the lives of the communities that live along the railroads and use the area as public space. It includes scenes commonly seen in Cambodia such as vendors, playing children and roadside restaurants, but the rail¬way is always a part of the photos and their lives.

The exhibit also includes dramatic photos of the fire at Boeng Kak lake earlier this year and images Mr Wall took in Battambang province of the unused train station and makeshift bamboo trains. These people live on the tracks, and some of them had to move everything off of the tracks before a train came through, and I thought that was very unique," Mr Wall said. The purpose of "life Along the Rails" is to highlight and document the way of life for these communities before the railway project greatly disrupts their lives."As the rehabi litation of the railways gets under way, these communities are about to face great changes," he said.

Mr Wall said he started taking photos of the Boeng Kak area two years ago, long before the exhibit started taking shape, and he has seen the area change over time as people moved away and homes disappeared."I started doing [taking photos of the area] because I enjoyed it," he said. "Unfortunately, a lot of those people I met two years ago no longer live there anymore." The Asian Development Bank, which is helping restore the railways, estimates that 3,649 families will be affected by the project

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