In the beginning, there was sand. And many castles in the air, but they were still hidden.
Koh Pich was like a bucolic pocket close to the city, an excursion goal for my Sunday afternoons. It was bare and raw and gifted with a lot of shores.
But step by step, over the years, the diamonds came together, and it was fascinating to observe.
Koh Pich, which translates into Diamond Island, sits at the mouth of where the Tonle Bassac River’s journey begins towards Vietnam. Located just in front of Phnom Penh city centre, the island didn’t exist half a century ago. Koh Pich has become a showcase for Phnom Penh’s developmental ambitions. The two-kilometre-long island is home to a golf driving range, the city’s largest international exhibition centre, a fire station, a new city hall and a theatre.
Nevertheless Koh Pich has become the favourite playground of the local youth who cruise around on their motorcycles, a weird place where lovers pass by shiny peacocks, where people come to watch the sunset on the river while backstage, the many workers and their families start cooking their supper.
This images were taken between early 2012 and March 2015