Many homeless children living on the streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia resort to solvent abuse to forget the pain of hunger and to escape from their harsh realities of street life. It is estimated that glue sniffing affects up to 40% of children in Cambodia.
Glue is a preferred substance of abuse among street children in Cambodia because it is cheaper than intravenous drugs and is easily available for about US$0.50 a can. Money for purchasing glue usually comes from begging ( mainly from tourists ).
As of February 2005 when the photo-documentary project was carried out, there was still no formal drug rehabilitation centre for street children to receive shelter and guidance.
A largely self taught photographer, Zann began her first serious foray into photojournalism after the tsunami in January 2005. In less than a year of building her portfolio while travelling, she joined World Picture News in December 2005 and Gaia in 2008.
Her works have been published in TIME magazine, â??Chocâ??, IKONO, Le Monde, Lâ??expresso, Geo Italia, AOL, UNFPA, Asian Geographic and various magazines and newspapers in the UK, USA, Czech Republic, Singapore and Malaysia. She has also taken part in the group exhibition â??Eye of the Cityâ?? (2002-2004) and Noorderlicht 2006: Another Asia in the Netherlands for her work on â??CAMBODIAN GLUE KIDSâ??. As one of the official photographers for the Singapore Season, her works were exhibited in Shanghai and Beijing in Oct 2007. In 2009, her work on â??Qashqai Nomads of Iranâ?? was exhibited at Gallery 2902.
As an emerging photographer, Zann has also received Honourable Mentions for the UNICEF photographer of the Year 2006, the International Photography Award (1 for 2006 and 9 for IPA 2009) and the PX3 Prix De La Photographie Paris 2007 for her works on Iran and Cambodia. Zann also clinched the Humanity Photo Awards UNESCO 2006. She is also one of the top 5 finalists for the Care International Humanitaire Award 2007 and her work was exhibited in Visa Pour Lâ??image 2007,Perpignan. In the 2009 New York Photo Festival, Zannâ??s work on Iran and Cambodia were shown.
Zann contributes to the United Nations on humanitarian and environmental issues. In 2007, she became the field editor/photographer for ASIAN GEOGRAPHIC http://www.asiangeo.com
covering the Middle East and Asia.
