88 FROM 14,000

In this work, Alice Miceli confronts the viewer with the stark legacy of the Khmer Rouge regime, focusing on a small fraction of the estimated 14,000 lives brutally extinguished in the S-21 prison. This 56-minute video projection does not simply recount historical atrocity; it engages in a profound act of commemoration, capturing the individual humanity behind each mug shot.

Miceli embarked on intensive research in Phnom Penh, aiming to reclaim the identities of 88 individuals by meticulously documenting the dates of their incarceration and execution. The project transitions these documented fates from mere statistics to individual narratives, thereby restoring a sense of humanity to the lives obliterated by one of history's most harrowing genocides.

The medium chosen by Miceli—a video record of a slide projection of mug shots onto a screen of cascading sand—serves both as a method of documentation and as a symbol of the transient yet indelible nature of human existence. This artistic choice transforms the original intent of these photographs from one of dehumanization and condemnation to one of remembrance and reverence, allowing viewers to engage with the work on a deeply emotional level.

This project was developed in collaboration with the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Documentation Center in Cambodia.