These were by far the hardest paintings I have ever executed to date. Technically, they required accurately imitating the tattered and aged appearance of each
photo that I attained from the Cambodian Genocide Museum. Although higher resolution photos eventually became available from the museum, I felt that it
was more important to preserve the truer institutional appearance of the photos, which further speaks to the indignities that these unfortunate subjects had to
tolerate at the hands of their cruel captors. Since the Museum is sorely lacking in funding to repair roof leaks, etc., many archival materials are in sad shape.
Furthermore, this was emotionally devastating to paint, considering what each of these poor souls had to endure.

I felt that this was a story that needed to be told, so I started with a full color painting of Comrade Duch. I then set out to paint the monochromatic portraits
to depict the utter senselessness in this secret genocide. These young people were among fourteen thousand (14,000) tortured and killed by Duch, who had
sadistically scheduled the deaths of women and children on different days. When the Vietnamese had crossed the Cambodian border, Pol Pot ordered Duch
to destroy all his documentation (so there would be no trace of their inhumanity) and to free the remaining prisoners. Instead, he left evidence of over one
hundred thousand (100,000) documents and murdered every prisoner in the building.

Ironically, he had been a school teacher who later converted a former high school into the Tuol Sleng torture chamber and prison complex in Phnom Penh.
He has since been arrested and is awaiting trial, primarily due to Nic Dunlop, author of "The Lost Executioner", who had heroically tracked Duch down and
turned him in to Cambodian authorities.