Preservation of Clothing and Memory in Cambodia: A Collaborative Model

Abstract

Artifacts of genocide present a particular set of emotional, cultural, and conservation challenges. Forty years after the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979), Cambodia’s Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21 Prison) is a compelling example of the struggle to balance authenticity, access, and sustainable preservation. The conservation of its genocide textiles, by far the most intimate and perishable of any genocide artifacts, has gained urgency for their repair, storage and display. A multi-year textile conservation triage and training project incorporated regional sensitivities to prioritise the victims’ clothing as a living and accessible collection. The project’s guiding principles were respect for the objects, suitability to the tropical climate, concern about future use and study, and sustainable practice. The resulting protocols modified prevailing conservation and archeological approaches, and integrated local values to apply a multi-faceted approach to reducing risks. These historic materials now carefully catalogued and better protected, are historic touchstones, revealing human stories and details of S-21. This physical connection to history gave the stakeholders a deeper understanding of conservation and why their role is essential to preserve their country’s legacies.