Once Beating Heart

Dates

2021 - Ongoing
Author

Calvin Chow
Location Cambodia, Cambodia
Recognition

6 Free Portfolio reviews - PhMuseum 2023 Photography Grant

Once Beating Heart is a body of work that began in 2021, deeply focused on the great Tonlé Sap lake in Cambodia. The largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, it swells to over five times its usual size during the monsoon season, as the water from the Mekong River reverses its flow into the Tonlé Sap. This movement of water pumps the lake like a beating heart, nourishing both people and wildlife in an interconnected web of nature, water, and man.

Fish is the lifeblood of the roughly two million people who call the lake their home, but ever since a series of hydropower dams were constructed up north along the Mekong in Laos and China, the inflow of water into the Tonlé Sap has dwindled and fish supplies have been decimated. Coupled with the effects of climate change, such as a devastating drought in 2019, the greatest in a century, it has left families with little income, threatening their lives and affecting their access to basic necessities such as clean drinking water.

The Tonlé Sap is in a precarious situation. Swirled up in a geopolitical impasse, with each country asserting its right to the hydropower of the Mekong, it is projected that in the next decade, water may stop flowing into the Tonlé Sap.

Exploring themes of interconnectedness, ecology, migration, and the idea of seemingly simple lives being shrouded in a complicated existence, I traveled via a small boat circumventing the 15,000 square kilometre lake navigating amongst floating villages for 16 days, relying on people's kindness and listening to every soul that was willing to share their story.

Once Beating Heart looks at the totality of the Tonlé Sap, the water, the people, the wildlife, and how their existence is connected and intertwined on the lake they call home.

Working on the water issues mainly around Southeast Asia, I have seen firsthand the inequality in expectations of the first world onto the third world. I would cherish an opportunity to have a residency at Landskrona, on the polar opposite side of the world, to research and come to a closer understanding of water’s ability to connect us human beings across borders and issues, such as the rising sea.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Lifeblood] Fishing nets hang from a dead tree on the Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 6 November 2021. Fish is the lifeblood for those who call the lake their home. Without it, there is no income, and life on the lake becomes unsustainable, with the price of gasoline exceeding that of fish. The Tonle Sap’s future is at a tipping point, with human-caused climate change possibly leading to a day where the Mekong river no longer flows into the Tonle Sap. This will cease the lake’s ability to provide for not only the million people that depend on it for their survival but also for the wildlife who flourish in its biosphere reserve.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Limbo] Ms. Koem, Mr. Seng, and Mr. Thanh, Kaoh K’aek village, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 29 October 2021. Their lives on the Tonlé Sap have been a long, complex, and insecure journey. Ever since the 1950s, their families have called the lake their home and lived through some of Cambodia's darkest periods. Two years ago, their floating village of eight homes in Kaoh K'aek was moved to land by the government. However, as ethnic Vietnamese, they are unable to own land as they and their families are not recognised as Cambodian citizens, but rather as immigrant aliens. Having to pay $225 USD yearly to rent land from a farmer, their insecure living situation has meant that they are unable to afford the building of basic sanitation needs such as toilets. Neither recognised as Vietnamese or Cambodian citizens, they are stuck in a limbo, all the while relying on the lake for fish, which in recent years has seen fish supplies dwindle significantly as a result of dams up north along the Mekong.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Dam] Mr. Hun Ham and Ms. Sok Lai recall that in 2018 when the dam in Laos along the Mekong river opened its gates, it was the most bountiful catch they had on the Tonle Sap in years. Since then, according to the couple, fish supplies have dramatically decreased. Their home, decorated with photographs from their children’s marriages, sits floating above the water precariously. Wishing that all eight of their children would be able to minimally finish high school and carve out a better future, the couple themselves also hope that one day, they would be able to return to living permanently on land, away from the Tonle Sap. The couple's home in Thnal Chheuteal, Tonle Sap lake, 3 November 2021.

© Calvin Chow - [Untitled(From A Church)] A view of Kampong Luong Floating Village from Mr. Ang’s church, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

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[Untitled(From A Church)] A view of Kampong Luong Floating Village from Mr. Ang’s church, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Forever] Mr. and Mrs. Paen’s floating home, Phat Sanday commune, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 15 November 2021. Mr. Paen, a religious teacher at the local temple, no longer fishes for an income due to aging health. Almost all of the couple’s 15 children have left the floating village to work in the cities like Phnom Penh, leaving the couple behind. Together, the couple is happy to live out the rest of their life in their floating home, although Mrs. Paen occasionally falls ill to water-borne diseases like diarrhoea. This is due to the poor water quality of the lake during the dry season and the couple’s inability to afford clean drinking water or basic facilities like a latrine in their home.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Shrine] A shrine for fishermen on the Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 4 November 2021. Dotted along the Tonle Sap, shrines serve as landmarks and as a place where fishermen can pray for protection before setting out into the open lake, which during the wet season can swell to over 16,000 square kilometres.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Open Kiln] Ms. Min starts the fire at her open kiln in Kampong Chhnang, firing the pots that are used by people throughout the Tonle Sap to store water and boil medicine. Having waited for dark clouds to pass, Ms. Min explained that the process is at the mercy of the weather, as the quality and colour of the pots are richer when the sun shines stronger.

© Calvin Chow - [Untitled(Ice)] An ice seller splits a block of ice in Kampong Luong floating village, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

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[Untitled(Ice)] An ice seller splits a block of ice in Kampong Luong floating village, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Foundations] The foundations of a new shrine for King Jayavarman VII by Wat Kaoh Khjach Sand Island Pagoda, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 10 November 2021. A king during the 12th century Khmer empire, Jayavarman VII brought together fragmented Khmer Cambodian and Cham kingdoms, and embarked on a vigorous building program that saw the construction of Angkor Thom and over 100 hospitals.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Paths] Mr. Lim Ny on his boat in the backyard of his home, Phat Sanday floating village, Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, 15 November 2021. Having built a latrine in his home, a rarity in the village, Mr. Lim and his family consisting of his three daughters and a son, no longer have to venture into the forest to relieve themselves. Mr. Lim believes in a better future for his children and hopes that they do not follow his path. Instead, he wants his children to be well educated and get good jobs in the city.

© Calvin Chow - [The Great Lake]

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[The Great Lake]

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Pastor] Kampong Luong Floating Village, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 4 November 2021. Mr. Ang, a pastor at a floating protestant church has lived on the Tonle Sap all his life. Originally from Vietnam, the floating church is his home, where he teaches primary school and gives sermons to his congregation. Tattooed on his forearm the date of his mother’s date of death, Mr. Ang said that he has no intention of leaving the Tonle Sap and intends to live out the rest of his life here, unlike some of the younger Vietnamese migrants who have returned to Vietnam for better economic prospects.

© Calvin Chow - [Afternoon Sun]

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[Afternoon Sun]

© Calvin Chow - [Untitled] Mr. Chea receiving a haircut from his nephew Mr. Cham, Phat Sanday Commune, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

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[Untitled] Mr. Chea receiving a haircut from his nephew Mr. Cham, Phat Sanday Commune, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

© Calvin Chow - [simple lives, complicated existence] A water snake caught for consumption, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

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[simple lives, complicated existence] A water snake caught for consumption, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Untitled(Smoke)] Phum Thmey Floating Village, Meat Kla, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 11 November 2021. Ms. Srey Phat spends two hours a day in a smoke-filled cabin, watching over smoked fish. During the two to three months of the wet season, she will earn five to ten dollars a day, the majority of her yearly income. Her husband goes out fishing in the dead of the night and admitted that he does so as he has no other choice because he uses fishing nets that have openings smaller than the allowable limit. If not, there will be no fish for his family to smoke and sell. In the dry season, the young family including their two young children will go to Siem Reap province in search of work, which most often involves the repairing of fish nets. For basic needs like clean drinking water, the family depends on a shared sediment filter in the school, but it is slow and ineffective, especially during the dry season, and their only alternative is to buy filtered water from the village clinic.

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Ra Nee] Mr. Ta with his three-year-old daughter Ra Nee in their floating home in Phat Sandaong village, Tonle Sap, Cambodia, 5 November 2021. Mr. Ta’s family has lived in the same floating village for generations, with fishing as their only source of income. Without a sustainable income from fishing, Mr. Ta who has four daughters is unable to afford necessities like clean drinking water. Instead, he has to rely on collecting water from remote areas of the lake in hopes that it is clean enough for his family to consume. The murky water is kept in a jug as seen in the background of the image. In the village, financial pressures due to the lack of fish have also led to a spiralling debt trap. A 30-meter fishing net is sold for $30 USD on a 20 percent interest by the fishing broker. The same broker then buys fish from the fishermen at 40c per kilogram. Mr. Ta has managed to avoid buying fishing nets on credit but has seen his friends get caught in the debt trap.

© Calvin Chow - [Untitled] Crows perch on a dead tree, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

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[Untitled] Crows perch on a dead tree, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia.

© Calvin Chow - [Untitled(Rainbow)]

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[Untitled(Rainbow)]

© Calvin Chow - Image from the Once Beating Heart photography project

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[Tangled Web] Mr. Pov’s sons untangling their fishing nets on the boat after a long day of fishing, Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia, 2 November 2021. The family who are of the Cham minority, a Muslim community in Cambodia, rely on fishing for day-to-day existence. The family of seven who live on their boat speak of how since four years ago, the monsoon season has started later in October instead of the usual June. The shorter monsoon has affected their ability to catch fish, with their daily catch now barely able to keep up with the price of gasoline. They are unable to afford necessities like clean drinking water, and hence directly consume water from the lake. While leading seemingly simple lives, Mr. Pov and his family have been caught in a web of circumstances as a result of human-caused climate change. While they have lived on the lake for generations, Mr. Pov hopes that one day his sons will break this generational cycle and have a better future for themselves.